Leighton Clarkson insists there won’t be a fear factor from Aberdeen going into their top of the table clash with Celtic.
And he reckons a rocking Pittodrie can shake the champions to their core. The Dons star knows his side never got going in last month’s Premier Sports Cup 6-0 semi-final Hampden rout. Clarkson is confident that his side has learned lessons and can also take confidence from the fact that their previous three games before that ended in a draw. Aberdeen are currently second and will be aiming to cut Celtic’s four-point lead at Pittodrie.
The playmaker said: “Before the 6-0 at Hampden, we had three draws against them or something like that. We had a decent record against them. We can’t fear them. We’ll give them total respect but we’ll be going out and looking to perform to the best of our ability and to try and take the three points.”
Clarkson knows the wounds from the semi-final are still raw and will be a big motivator for the Dons. He stated: “Yeah, of course. It’s happened before and it happened then. But that’s in the past now.
“We look forward. In the games since then, the spirit’s always been there. The fight’s always been there. You saw it at the end on Sunday. The fight has always been there. We’ve got that real togetherness in the squad still.”
Clarkson is well aware that Hampden was a painful lesson and one they have to learn and improve from. He explained: “It’s a mixture of things. The balance of counter-attacking, keeping hold of the ball, maybe not being as passive.
“I felt like at Hampden we were a bit passive and they’ve got real good players. When you give them half a yard, they can punish you and they did so. We need to be at it.”
Dons have won every game at home this season and Clarkson knows when the Red Army are behind their team it is a formidable place to go, as was shown when they took care of Rangers. The former Liverpool youngster admitted: “As I say, we’ve got a really good record there. When you get that place bouncing, it’s a really tough place to go for opponents.
“We’ll be at it Wednesday night and the crowd will be with us too. We’ll have the whole Pittodrie behind us, backing us all the way.
“A game under the lights can’t come much better than that. Hopefully, we can take the three points. Yeah, of course. It’s a big game. Every game’s a big game, but being back at home, we’ve got a good record at home. When Pittodrie is bouncing it can rock other teams and hopefully they’ll be there in full force on Wednesday night.”
Aberdeen remain clear in second spot. They are four points behind Celtic after a taxing three-game away-day run. It saw them draw with Hearts and Hibs and lose at St Mirren.
Aberdeen have only lost one league game and Clarkson is confident the wheels aren’t coming off their season. He claimed: “No, I don’t think it’s been successful. We had nine points to play for and we’ve come out with two.”