Aberdeen admit pressure factor creeping into Hearts Scottish Cup clash and why it's on Celtic levels
Hearts will hope to reach the Scottish Cup final with a Hampden Park win against Aberdeen on Saturday lunchtime.
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin believes his side are heading in the right direction as they prepare to face Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Saturday - with pressure on par with Celtic games.
The former Elfsborg manager made an immediate impact following his appointment at Pittodrie last summer and went unbeaten in his first 11 Premiership fixtures as the Dons threatened to lay the foundations for an unlikely title bid. However, a 2-1 away defeat against St Mirren set his side on an inconsistent run of form that has only really subsided over the last month.
After losing just once in their last eight league games, the Dons are firmly in the race for Europe once again - and their hopes of another adventure on to the continent are also alive via their bid to land the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1990. Ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Hearts, Thelin has assessed his side’s form and believes they are now finding consistency at a crucial stage in the season.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he said: "We're getting better. So I really believe that we are better and more consistent again. The season so far has been a little bit up and down. We have been up, up, up, and then we go down, down, down and now we are on the way back and more stable again."
He continued: "The season is not over yet. Still, we have a lot of things to do before the season is over to have a good end result on the table when everything is done. But I think we are ready to play the last games of the season in a good way."
Aberdeen star makes ‘pressure’ claim ahead of Hearts clash
Aberdeen midfielder Graeme Shinnie has hit out at claims his side will face less pressure facing Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final than they would if Celtic or Rangers were providing the opposition at Hampden Park.
The Dons have already seen off Elgin City, Dunfermline Athletic and Queens Park to reach the last four of the competition and they will now hope to continue their unbeaten record against Hearts this season to reach the final of the Scottish Cup for the first time since 2017. Jimmy Thelin’s men already have experience of a semi-final this season - although they will not look back upon it fondly after they crashed to a 6-0 defeat against Celtic in the last four of the ViaPlay Cup in November.
Some have suggested taking on Hearts, rather than one of the Old Firm sides, should reduce the pressure on Shinnie and his team-mates when they walk out at Hampden Park on Saturday lunchtime - but the former Dons midfielder has refuted such claims.
He said: "We have to use what happened the last time at Hampden to give us hunger and determination. These cup games are always different. The last one was. tough, Celtic scored with six out of the seven shots they had. They played well on the day, everything they hit seemed to go in, so it was frustrating.
“This one will be a different game so we'll see what happens. It will just be a different game for people looking in. For us, there's still a pressure to get to another final. That's where we want to be, that's where the pressure of playing for Aberdeen comes from. So the pressure is just as big playing Hearts as it is Celtic because we want to get to the final. Maybe for people looking in from outside it looks different, but for us it's about getting through so you still have a chance of winning it."
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