What Jimmy Thelin can learn from Aberdeen's 'worst team ever'

The National

21-05-2025

'Sometimes when you're at a match you cover your eyes because the sun's getting in them,' said Tosh yesterday as he looked ahead to the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final against Celtic at Hampden on Saturday.
'I think a lot of people are going to be covering their eyes this weekend because they're so scared of how it is going to go and what they are going to see. There have been some devastating, negative results recently. I know that people are concerned.'
However, the former St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Livingston, Falkirk, Gretna and Queen of the South midfielder, who spent an eventful and enjoyable if ultimately unsuccessful season-and-a-half playing for his boyhood heroes at Pittodrie back in the 2000s, doesn't share his fellow supporters' pessimism.
He will set off for Glasgow from his home town Kirkcaldy with his son Jordan on Saturday morning believing, not just hoping, that the underdogs are more than capable of pulling off a major upset and denying their opponents both victory and another domestic treble.
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Recent results against Brendan Rodgers' side do not, he appreciates, augur well for Jimmy Thelin's team. They have lost their last four encounters with their top flight rivals and have conceded no fewer than 17 goals in the process. Avoiding another humiliating mauling is the most that some of their fans are hoping for just now.
Tosh, though, knows from personal experience that great things can be achieved with a positive attitude and the correct gameplan.
'I was a member of what was possibly the worst Aberdeen team ever to turn up at Parkhead back in 2004,' he said. 'We had five teenagers in the side. I was the most experienced outfield player and had to come off after 20 minutes with a calf injury. Celtic had gone 77 games unbeaten at home in all competitions.
'But we beat them 2-1 that day. Then the next time we went back to Parkhead the following season when Jimmy Calderwood was manager we beat them 3-2. Don't get me wrong, there were a helluva lot of other times when we went down there and got a doing. All I'm saying is it's possible.'
(Image: SNS Group Alan Harvey) Tosh was also a key player in the Gretna and Queen of the South sides which gave Hearts and Rangers serious scares in memorable Scottish Cup finals in 2006 and 2008 – the former were only beaten in a penalty shootout while the latter lost 3-2 after an epic tussle.
'The FA Cup final in England on Saturday past proves that anything's possible in a one off game,' he said. 'You'd expect Manchester City to beat Crystal Palace quite comfortably, but they didn't. Exactly the same kind of result can happen in the Scottish Cup.
'Queen of the South ran a Rangers team that had played in a European final 10 days earlier close in 2008. Two years before that Gretna to Hearts lost on penalties. But if it hadn't been for Robbie Neilson denying Davie Graham with a last-gasp challenge a third tier team would have won.
'There's been many finals recently when the lesser teams have been given no chance and they've proven to be very close finals. As I say, anything can happen in a one off game.'
So how can Aberdeen, who were thrashed 5-1 by a significantly understrength Celtic side in a Premiership game at Pittodrie last Wednesday night, overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and lift the Scottish Cup for the first time since way back in 1990 this weekend?
Tosh, who works as a pundit for Red TV and has seen Aberdeen in action regularly this season, feels it is imperative that they go on the offensive in Mount Florida once referee Don Robertson has blown the whistle for the start of the match and give their huge travelling support reason to cheer.
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'There's only one way Aberdeen are going to beat Celtic and it's not by keeping a clean sheet,' he said. 'I honestly think they are going to need to go out and try to score goals. If they try to sit back they will play into their hands because their opponents' attack is the best part of their team. I'd like to see them going out and having a right pop.
'I think most fans would prefer that they did that to sitting in to be honest, even if they lost 5-2. If you're asking people to spend £50 on a ticket of whatever it is, then they deserve for you to have a go. I know the players would prefer to do that as well.
'When I played, there was nothing worse than sitting in, defending in numbers and trying to hit a team on the break. The truth is you felt like you were giving them the ball back to have another go.
'I'm not saying Celtic are weak at the back, but I would say it's the weakest part of their team. I'm not being derogatory about their defenders, but I think their greatest strength is their flair and ability to score goals. Lets face it, they're going to score. So why not go out there and try to score two?'
(Image: SNS Group Jeff Holmes) Tosh continued, 'In one game at Pittodrie a couple of seasons ago Celtic had 81 per cent possession. Callum McGregor scored a goal and they won 1-0. Sorry, but that's not football for me. So go down and try and cause an upset. If they do that they have got half a chance. They are quite capable of scoring.
'Topi Keskinen and Oday Dabbagh can do some damage in attack. Shayden Morris can be frustrating, but, on his day, he can give defenders a hard time. Leighton Clarkson does his best work in the latter third. Kevin Nisbet knows where the goals are. So they definitely have the players in that area. It will be interesting to see what Jimmy does on the day.
'But they proved earlier on in the season that they are capable. They were 2-0 down at half-time at Parkhead, came back to draw 2-2 and, to be honest, looked a far better team in the second half. Only a VAR decision cost them victory that day. That's how close they came at the home of the champions.
'They've got to go and show they're Aberdeen, show they're not a lesser team, show that they belong to be there, show that they are still a major force within Scottish football. They can't allow the Scottish Cup final to be a damp squib.'