CRAIG Feroz stood on the streets of Aberdeen and cheered himself hoarse as his Pittodrie heroes returned from their greatest triumph, but last night the Livingston striker vowed to leave the the Premier League side speechless by knocking them out of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
Feroz fulfills a boyhood dream by turning out at Pittodrie for the first time in the third round tie. He watched in wonder as Alex Ferguson and his heroes toured the Granite City in 1983 after winning the European Cup Winners' Cup after beating Real Madrid 2-1 victory in Gothenburg and went on to spend two years at Pittodrie as a schoolboy before signing for Dundee United.
Feroz said: ''I remember vividly standing in the street as a six-year-old, bedecked in red and white and cheering the team home as the open top bus drove around Aberdeen with the European Cup Winners' Cup. From that day, I dreamt of running out at Pittodrie to play on the same pitch as the men who were unbeatable under Fergie.
''Unfortunately, it never happened. I eventually decided to sign for Dundee United because they had the best youth team policy around at the time.
''It would have been nice to say I had played for Aberdeen at Pittodrie. But it will be just as nice to say I helped to knock them out of the cup after Saturday.''
The 21-year-old will line up against old pal David Rowson in the match that could spring the biggest shock of the round. After the pair played together in the same Aberdeen youth team, Rowson has made a name for himself at Pittodrie while Feroz has plied his trade with United and Brechin City before arriving at Almondvale in the summer.
He said: ''I'm still quite friendly with David and he has done very well to come right through the ranks at Aberdeen and force his way into the first team. We will probably have a good chat after the game, whatever the result.''
However, Feroz probably will not be on speaking terms with two sets of families if Livingston upset the form book and leave Aberdeen manager Paul Hegarty's face a crimson colour. All his relations - and his girlfriend's family - are red-hot Dons fans.
''I have taken stick from all of them about how the Dons are going to give Livvy a real doing,'' he said. ''So I'm determined to wipe the smile off their faces by dumping my hometown club out of the cup.''
Feroz admits that he has never been so popular since the second division side were pitted against the Premer League outfit in the third round draw. ''As soon as the draw was made and it was flashed up on the screen that Aberdeen would play Livvy at Pittodrie, the phone was red hot,'' he explained.
''In fact, I don't think it stopped ringing until three in the morning and I've been inundated with requests by both sets of families for tickets. I've put in an order for about 90 tickets to keep everybody happy.''
Feroz insists that the Dons missed the boat to relaunch the glory days by failing to appoint Pittodrie legend Alex McLeish as manager. He said: ''With no disrespect to Paul Hegarty, I think the fans would loved to have seen Alex as the new Aberdeen boss.
''He is doing such a great job at Hibs and he has a genuine feeling for Aberdeen, having played there during the glory years of the 1980s.
''There is a lot of added pressure on Paul Hegarty on Saturday, not just to win this match. He also has to win over the fickle Dons fans to prove he is worthy of hanging on to the job on a permanent basis. Sadly, I don't see the glory days coming back to Pittodrie, now or in the near future.''
Feroz notched his first goal of the season on Saturday, when he came off the bench to net against Alloa Athletic. Now he is pushing veteran John Robertson, the former Tynecastle favourite, for a regular place in the Almondvale line up alongside fellow striker David Bingham.
''The competition for places at Livvy is fierce with guys like Robbo and David around,'' he said. ''They have done it all with teams like Hearts and Dunfermline.
''But I am hoping to have done enough over the last few weeks to retain one of the strikers' jerseys. I played against Hibs for Brechin in the League Cup a few years ago, but nothing will match this game on Saturday.''
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