Hibs Preview

Hibernian are riding high on the back of a five match unbeaten run, and should really have made it four straight wins at Tannadice last weekend, while the Dons have bounced back from the defeat against Motherwell to enjoy three successive victories which have propelled us up into second place.

Not so long ago, Aberdeen would have been heavy odds-on favourites to record another win, but it looks a much tougher proposition given the transformation of the Edinburgh side under Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas, the pair having quickly worked the magic at Easter Road which made Caley Thistle such a difficult team to beat.

There is a self-belief evident in the Hibernian players which was lacking under previous boss Pat Fenlon, and that has allowed their talents to come to the fore, leading to their present impressive stretch of results.

That said, the Dons go into this one in an equally confident frame of mind, and it promises to be a thrilling and hard-fought encounter.

The players have shown great resilience, coming through some particularly difficult away games, and if they show that again tonight there’s every chance they’ll collect three more important points.

Of the recent run, the stand-out was the victory at Tannadice, undoubtedly one of my most memorable matches of the season so far.

It was a perfect way to kick-off 2014, a fantastic football occasion in front of a noisy full-house, helped by the passion and backing of yet another sizeable away support, and coming from behind to win the match right at the death made it even more special.

I did mention in my column for the St Mirren programme last month that I wondered how United would react when they next suffered a reversal. Since then they have lost three in a row, only salvaging a late point against Hibernian to prevent four straight defeats. Jackie McNamara’s young team are in danger of slipping out of contention for second place; they’re a talented group, but he has a huge task on his hands restoring the confidence and consistency they had shown in the previous couple of months.

During that time Motherwell have been the top team among the contenders, bouncing-back from their Albion Rovers and Celtic humiliations, and they look strong challengers in the race to finish the season as runners-up.

Derek McInnes’ first ambition as Aberdeen manager would have been to lift us out of the bottom six for the first time in five years, a target he has all but already achieved, but he will now be setting his sights higher and the next few weeks will determine what this side can achieve.

After tonight we play Caley Thistle and ‘Well in league matches before the Cup double-header against St Johnstone and Celtic. Come through that little lot unbeaten and we really can start seriously to dream about the good times returning to Pittodrie.

Happy New Year to one and all – let’s hope it’s one to remember.

Happy New Year to one and all – let’s hope it’s one to remember.

Happy New Year to one and all – let’s hope it’s one to remember.