THERE was a classic “wha’s like us?” Scottish football moment that raised a wry smile and prompted a weary shake of the head the day after Aberdeen had defied pre-match expectations and beaten Celtic in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final at Hampden back in May.
The Pittodrie club denying their Parkhead rivals a world record ninth domestic treble with a dramatic penalty shootout win and lifting the oldest piece of silverware in the world game for the first time in 35 years had sparked scenes of wild rejoicing in the Granite City.
The historic triumph had also dominated the front and back pages of every national newspaper on the Sunday and led to in-depth discussions among supporters, former players and journalists on radio and television sports programmes, internet messageboards and football podcasts.
But one pundit predicted the surprise result could ultimately have grave ramifications for the man who had masterminded it less than 24 hours after goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov had saved the final spot kick from the hapless Alistair Johnston – [[Aberdeen]] manager Jimmy Thelin.
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“If his team start the league the way they finished it off this season and they suffer a couple of heavy defeats in Europe then he could find himself in a precarious position come October,” he said. “He may suddenly discover his jacket is on a shoogly peg.”
For crying out loud man! Can you not let Jimmy enjoy the open-top bus parade through the city before you start penning his obituary and speculating about who will be brought in to replace him? His plucky giant killers hadn’t even reached the town house yet. Truly, we can be a heartless and bloodthirsty lot in Scottish fitba.
The individual in question, though, had a completely valid point. Being involved in the group stages of a continental competition can lead directly to managers being sacked and sides sucked into relegation dogfights near the bottom of the table. Previous accomplishments count for nothing when humiliations are suffered. Just ask Thelin’s predecessor Barry Robson.
The Conference League games against Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, PAOK of Greece and HJK of Finland were enjoyed by all of their fans back in 2023. However, they took a heavy toll on Graeme Shinnie and his team-mates and their domestic form nosedived. Their captain admitted it was the most gruelling season he had experienced in his long career.
Robson was sacked in January with [[Aberdeen]] sitting in eighth spot in the top flight table. He is far from the only man in his position to suffer such a fate. The previous season Giovanni van Bronckhost had been jettisoned by Rangers after the Ibrox outfit had lost all six of their Champions League group stage matches.
Those results had banked tens of millions for a club which had wrestled with serious financial matters. But they counted for nothing when heavy losses to Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli were suffered and punters voiced their disgust.
The crippling injury list which Van Bronckhorst, who in many respects was a victim of his own success, was wrestling with was completely ignored. At one stage, he had to play Leon King, his fifth choice centre-half, and James Sands, who was more of a midfielder than a defender, in the heart of his rearguard. But nobody was interested in listening to his tale of woe.
Russell Martin will be eager to complete an aggregate win over Panathinaikos in Athens on Wednesday night and progress to the Champions League third qualifying round. But is his new-look team really ready to take on Europe’s elite? Would dropping down into the Europa League be the worst thing for him in his first season as Rangers manager? Or even the Conference League? It would perhaps make his cause easier if they did.
There were great celebrations when Hibernian ground out a 1-1 draw with Midtjylland of Denmark in [[Europa League]] qualifying away from home on Thursday evening and much excitement at Tannadice the same night as Dundee United recorded a 1-0 triumph over UNA Strassen of Luxembourg in the Conference League the same night.
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So do Russell Martin and his new recruits have what it takes to succeed at Rangers?
But do those clubs have the strength in depth to cope with going deep into those competitions and fighting a war on two fronts? If they do progress, they will have to get their recruitment spot on to avoid suffering the sorry fate which so many sides from this country have in the past. The members of their sports science department, too, will also have to step up to make sure that every member of the squad is in peak condition.
The same goes for Aberdeen who are, as a result of their cup win, guaranteed group stage European football this term. They actually did pretty well two years ago all things considered. They drew three and won one of their six games. They will have learned lessons from those outings. Thelin has brought in seven new players in recent weeks.
Maybe some of them will defy the doom mongers, hold onto their jobs, lift the sport in this country and give their supporters memories which will last an entire lifetime.
