Main Feature : Graeme Shinnie
“I think the fans will always set the bar high for you. I think they are entitled to do that. The whole season, they have been tremendous. Since the day I arrived, and some time before that, the backing they have given me has been different class. It’s not an unfair burden on us for them to expect big things of us. Not at all. It’s something that drives us on.
“For the rest of the season we need to go and do the business and have a strong push. There’s nothing we can do about the cups now but there is something we can do about the league. We’re in good form, we need to keep that going and continue our unbeaten run and put another run of wins together.
“It would be great to end the season on a high, wherever that means us finishing. I am loving it here and it would be great to keep that momentum going. Whether I am playing at left-back or in midfield, I will play wherever the manager wants me to go.”
The Manager : Derek McInnes
“It’s going to take a big effort from everybody to get the desired result on Wednesday night and any added support we can get from the stands is very welcome.
“We might not get it all our own way – you normally don’t against Celtic – but we’ve shown in the past we can have good spells against them so it’s important we maximise those periods and it’s important that we have a confidence and composure when we don’t have the ball and they ask questions of us.
“It’s during those periods in particular that the level of support is important for our players. Hopefully it’s a good night for us and it’s certainly one we’re looking forward to.”
Craig Storie “The gaffer and Tony both just told me to keep my head down and work hard and my chance would come along at some point. That chance came in the last two games and I feel I have done ok.
“I only found out an hour before the game that I would be starting against Ross County. It certainly was a bit of a shock when I heard the news. I think it was actually a good thing that I only found out late on. I actually felt more pressure in the Dundee game because I knew in advance that I would be playing and had longer to think about it.
“I don’t really get that nervous. I am fortunate that it is something I have never had before a game. I felt comfortable at the start of the County game, especially with the way we started. But then Mark got sent off and we went a goal behind. I was absolutely sure I was the person who would have to come off when they made the substitution. I really thought it would be me so when I saw that it was not me, it gave me a huge lift. It gave me confidence because I thought the gaffer must have some trust in me to keep me on.”
Jonny Hayes
In recent seasons, Jonny has experienced highs and lows in the Celtic game at Pittodrie. He scored the goal of the season a couple of years ago and earlier this season, he was sent off.
“Both games were enjoyable because we won them. It’s the games that you did not win that you look back on with disappointment. It does not matter how you get over the finish line, as long as you get the three points. That is what makes football enjoyable, when you can go home with your family and relax, knowing you have done a good job”.
There have been a lot more of those days over the last two or three seasons as the Dons have re-established themselves in the top three of the SPFL. It hasn’t happened overnight, but has been the result of a huge amount of hard work by a lot of people, on and off the pitch, all led by manager Derek McInnes.
“The manager has changed the mentality around the whole city, including the fans and the players, as to where we should be. He deserves a lot of credit for that. All the players enjoy working with him and we are looking forward to the run-in to the end of the season now.
“The confidence has always been high in the changing room. There is a lot of self-belief in there. We just go about our business and don’t worry what everyone else is saying or doing.
“We just have to concentrate on doing as well as we can in our remaining league games and then see where it takes us. We can’t affect other teams and how they do so there is no point in worrying about it”.
The Captain : Ryan Jack
“Hopefully the boys having had a couple of days off and then the chance to focus purely on Wednesday night will put us in the best possible shape for the game. There have been a couple of epic games with Celtic in the past couple of seasons and I’m sure there will be more of the same tonight.
“For me personally I am making good progress in my recovery from injury and hope to be back sooner rather than later.”
Former Players Interview : Walker McCall
“I also scored against Celtic in the 4-1 win at Pittodrie in December 1980. I scored with a header and I think that put us 11 points ahead of them in the league and most folk thought we would win the league that season, but we ended up losing it.
“The day of the 4-1 game, Fergie had people in from all round about the stadium to try to help to try and get snow shovelled off the park and get sand on it, he was desperate to play the game because he mentioned that if we won that match, we would go 11 points clear at the New Year.
“I remember Bob Valentine being the referee and Fergie knew where all the dodgy bits were on the park, so when he came to do the inspection to see if the game was going ahead, Fergie escorted him around the stadium! Celtic had arrived by then and they started doing their warm up and I always remember Danny McGrain having aluminium studs on, they were no use, he had rubber studs on they were no use, he tried trainers, they were no use! Danny was sliding about and saying, “This game should not be getting played”. “Meanwhile, Fergie was walking about with Bob Valentine taking him to certain parts of the pitch, saying that was alright, the fork was going in and the ball was bouncing and saying the pitch was playable!”
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