Are Aberdeen in danger of being dragged into a relegation fight?
Aberdeen have had a struggle of a season as they sit eighth with a difficult run to come for Peter Leven’s men. It’s been a difficult season for Aberdeen after a poor start which saw Scottish Cup winner, Jimmy Thelin sacked at the start of the year after a defeat away at Falkirk. Aberdeen have only won three times this year so far which came against Championship side, Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup, a 6-2 win over bottom of the league Livingston and an impressive 2-0 win over 9-men Motherwell in the Scottish Cup. Aberdeen have failed to win away since early December and this year hasn’t been great at all. The Dons’ new manager search has taken quite a while as still no manager has taken the role yet despite huge talk of Eirik Horneland taking the job which looks like it may not be until next season. Peter Leven is currently in charge as interim boss with former Ross County and Dundee boss Tony Docherty alongside Leven. Aberdeen also added former Notts County boss, Ian Burchnall to the coaching staff for the remainder of the season. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Dons with a trip to Tynecastle on the cards tomorrow – a place they haven’t won at since 2017 before they take on Celtic on Wednesday night. They then look to defend their Scottish Cup as they travel to East End Park next Saturday night to face Dunfermline. Aberdeen will also have to face the likes of Rangers, Hibernian, Falkirk and St Mirren ahead of the split which is far from ideal as Aberdeen are in dire need of grabbing wins to make a late push for top six. It is highly unlikely Aberdeen will go down due to the amount of quality but Peter Leven’s men certainly need to up their game to prevent being dragged closer to the bottom with sides around that area improving week by week.
Oliver Glasner opens up about potential exit
Crystal Palace boss, Oliver Glasner has spoken about the rumour of a potential exit being on the cards. Glasner has stated he has the full interest of remaining in charge with the Selhurst Park side until the end of the season at the very least despite struggling times. There has been concern within the Palace support to whether Glasner was going to depart the club as Crystal Palace continue to slip down the league as they currently sit 15th in the league and have qualified into the final 16 of the UEFA Conference League where they will meet AEK Larnaca – the side who defeated them in the league phase. Following their win over Zrinjski Mostar, Glasner said: “I’ve had 100-per-cent assurance [of staying on],” he told TNT Sports after the game. “For me it’s always number one is the players, the players believing in me and the staff – and that’s the most important thing, otherwise you can pack your suitcase and go home. “They have a great togetherness in the group, the staff and it’s the same with the chairman and sporting director.” Glasner also feels some of his comments within the media may have been one of the reasons to the rumours of Glasner possibly departing. “Maybe I gave some interviews which were not really helpful, I have to admit but I always say what I am feeling and sometimes it’s positive, sometimes it’s not so positive. “That’s Oliver Glasner, and in the end we are in a very good position in the league and now it’s up to us with our fans to make a really good season of it.” Glasner feels belief within the players is the most important part while results create the awareness. “For me it’s always number one is the players, the players believing in me and the staff – and that’s the most important thing, otherwise you can pack your suitcase and go home. “They have a great togetherness in the group, the staff and it’s the same with the chairman and sporting director.”
League Leader Hearts welcome struggling Aberdeen to Tynecastle
Hearts meet Aberdeen in the Capital tomorrow as Hearts look to extend their gap at the top with Aberdeen looking to end their winless run at Tynecastle. Aberdeen were the first side to hand out defeat to Hearts this campaign as a Topi Keskinen strike from the edge of the box gave Aberdeen a huge 1-0 win back in November which saw Hearts defeated for the first time in this season. The two sides also met on opening day at Tynecastle where Hearts began there sensational season with a 2-0 win with a Shinnie own-goal and Stuart Findlay header sealing the win for the Jambos. Last time out for the hosts, they defeated Falkirk narrowly with a 1-0 win on home soil against Falkirk. Islam Chesnokov grabbed his first goal in maroon just before the half-time interval helping Hearts move further away from both Celtic and Rangers who both dropped points on Sunday against Hibernian and Livingston respectfully. Aberdeen were in action on Tuesday in their re-arranged game with Dundee United at Tannadice as it ended up being a dull goalless draw in the City of Discovery. The pitch didn’t help neither teams in any way with recent rainfall in the city but a strong second half display by the Dons gave them some positives but still unable to find the back of the net which saw Aberdeen remain 8th behind Dundee United. Hearts have netted on seven occasions in their last five whereas Aberdeen have scored four in their last five. Hearts have only been defeated at home once this campaign which was their Scottish Cup exit to Falkirk following a penalty shootout defeat. Aberdeen have failed to win on their travels since the start of December in a 3-1 win at Dens Park with no away goal since just before Christmas as Bilalovic netted away to Celtic. Hearts have had issues in terms of injuries as both Shankland and Devlin are set to remain out. Craig Gordon will also miss out with a shoulder injury, Oisin McEntee misses also with a shoulder injury and Stuart Findlay looks likely to miss out after an injury picked up against Falkirk. Nieuwenhof, Ageu and Kingsley also miss out. For Aberdeen, they have issues at the back with both Gyamfi, Tobers and Knoester all out with McIntyre joining that list after going off at Tannadice. Nick Suman also remains out through injury.
‘They are behind us – my team is ready to take points’ – Danny Rohl not phased by McCowan’s comments
Danny Rohl responds to Luke McCowan’s ‘if we’re at it – no one in that league touches us’ comments by pointing out that Celtic have lost ‘seven or eight times’ this season. Rangers face the Hoops this Sunday in what is set to be a mouth watering Old Firm derby. The Ibrox club are four points behind league leaders Hearts and two ahead of the Celts who have a game in hand. The 28-year-old midfielder made the comments after Celtic’s 4-2 loss on aggregate to Stuttgart as they were dumped out of the Europa League. Speaking in his pre match press conference, the Gers boss wasn’t phased by McCowan’s bold claim and said he’s fully focused on Sunday: “At the moment we are in the second position, and they are behind us. “I think they have seven or eight defeats. In general, it makes no sense to speak too much about the other side. We have to focus on ourselves. We want to win these games; my team is ready to take points. “We are ready. Do it with a hot heart and a smart mind. “If we do this then we have a big chance, we have a clear idea of what we want to do. “We have also some different solutions, how we can hurt them. But let’s see.” The Light Blues won the last Old Firm derby 3-1 at Parkhead, which turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Wilfried Nancy.
