Aberdeen hero believes Hearts showdown can be a 'catalyst' for former side while predicting Jambos league table demise
The former Aberdeen and Norwich City stopper believes Hearts could suffer the fate as his old team.
After the International break, next up for Hearts is a trip to Aberdeen in the reverse fixture of the League opener.
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but Hearts defeated the Dons only three months ago in a 2-0 opening day victory at Tynecastle. Since then, Derek McInnes’ men have played every other team in the Scottish Premiership at least once and remain unbeaten.
However, as Hearts fans will well know, Pittodrie hasn’t been a happy hunting ground of late, with the Jambos last league win coming in a dead rubber in May 2016, when a Adam Collin mistake in the Aberdeen goal was pounced on by Abiola Dauda, mind him?
McInnes, who was manager of the Dons that day, is now preparing his non-International squad members for the Granite City clash, for which, they will be without the suspended defensive stalwart, Craig Halkett, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the Dundee United draw.
Lewis predicts Hearts title demise
Ex Aberdeen goalkeeper, Joe Lewis, who worked under McInnes, believes that the Hearts game could act as a ‘catalyst’ for his former side, who currently sit eighth in the SPFL Premiership table. The 38-year old also believes that Hearts will ultimately fall short in their title charge.
He told Record Sport: “he (McInnes) is that competitive guy and manager and he has done a fantastic job at Hearts but can they keep it going? No, I don’t think they will. I don’t think they will go through the whole season, but they will want to keep it going.”
The former Dons number one compared Hearts’ dream start to that of Aberdeen’s last season, when Jimmy Thelin’s men went eleven games unbeaten before enduring a monumental fall from grace which seen them plummet to fifth in the League Table. Saying that, they did manage to win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 35 years, so every cloud, eh?
Hearts showdown could act as a ‘catalyst’ for Dons
Lewis believes that history could be repeating itself and that Hearts could replicate Aberdeen’s downfall from last season. He said: “when you look at Aberdeen last season. We started in similar fashion and then fell away. They will know that and will have that in their mind, that they need to keep it going.”
With the impressive record Aberdeen possess over their Edinburgh rivals at Pittodrie, Lewis claims the post-International break fixture gives them a chance to kick-start their season with a statement win. He continued: “Derek is a shrewd manager and he will probably want to win this game more than any other.
“They will still see Aberdeen as a scalp and a potential competitor. Yes, they have shown real strength and quality but you can also see how quickly that can change. If Aberdeen can win and beat them then hopefully it can be the catalyst for Aberdeen to kick on and things to go the other way.”