A GOOD team becomes a great team by winning trophies.
Scott Booth, a hero at his hometown club for many years, scored goals for an Aberdeen side which enjoyed good seasons, played some fantastic football, but couldn’t quite find that bit extra to beat a dominant Rangers side.
And silverware is the true mark of success.
Read more: Stuart McCall: Graeme Shinnie as big a loss for Aberdeen as Scott Brown for Celtic
Today’s Aberdeen are the strongest since Booth’s day. They’ve won the League Cup and finished second to Celtic, even more dominant than the Rangers team of the 1990s, and have lost two finals.
That is a decent record, make no mistake, but Booth believes it’s time for his cold club to take another step forward.
“Just winning things would be fantastic for Aberdeen,” said Booth. “Under Derek McInnes, they have been a really good side for a number of years now. He has proved he can change the side, bring new players in and build. But, for the fans, it’s all about winning trophies and they have had a lot of near misses.
“The Scottish Cup final, given Celtic are going to win the league, is the next best thing. It would be massive for them to take that trophy.
“If you are going to be a great manager, you need to win things. There is a level of expectation at Aberdeen that has always been high. But fans have realised how tough it is to win things.
Read more: Celtic captain Scott Brown believes the ten-man win at Ibrox has wrecked Rangers
“The players will be desperate to win the trophy because years on you look back on it. Did you win it or did you not?”
Aberdeen’s last Scottish Cup success came in 1990, if you can believe it, when Booth was a young lad watching in the stand.
If they are to reach another final, they must beat Motherwell in Saturday’s semi-final without the suspended captain Graeme Shinnie, ever-present Shay Logan and Kenny McLean who has been Aberdeen’s best player this season.
“It’s going to be really difficult to replace them. It’s a real blow,” said Booth. “Now it’s about players stepping up and that’s what a squad is all about
“You’re talking about your captain and a player that creates goals and scores them and they are the types that are so important in a cup semi-final.”
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