Latest news with #ScottBooth
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Dundee United 0-5 Aberdeen: What the managers said
Dundee United manager Suzy Shepherd: "I don't think we deserved anything out the game. "We worked so hard to win the ball back and then we just gave it away. From the first whistle to the last whistle we weren't able to retain the ball or secure the ball further up the pitch which caused us problems the whole time."Aberdeen manager Scott Booth: "We're absolutely delighted. I'm really happy for the players and the staff. "It's been a really tough season for the players, they've gone through a lot so it's a really nice reward that we can make sure we stay in the league. I'm really proud of the players."
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Booth urges Dons to 'savour' first semi-final
Aberdeen manager Scott Booth wants his side to embrace Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers but admits he is "realistic about the expectations".His team will start as huge underdogs at Hampden. The part-time Dons are eighth in the SWPL, while Scottish Cup holders Rangers are two points off the top and chasing a domestic treble."We are playing against a club and a team that are fully professional and that is where we want to be," Booth said. "We are not there and I think there is a big space there between the teams that are still fundamentally part-time and the teams that are fully professional."I think we have to be realistic as a club. As a manager I am realistic about the expectations. However it is a cup semi-final and I know that for sure the players will give 100% and more if they can."I want them to enjoy it, I want them to savour it and I want them to experience it. I want the younger players in the squad to use it as part of their development but it is a one-off game and in football we know anything can happen."The gulf between the sides has been illustrated by the two previous meetings of the teams this season, which Rangers won 11-0 and the bigger picture is that Aberdeen have undoubtedly progressed since Booth – a former star for the Dons' men's team – was appointed in that is backed up by fact they will be making their first ever appearance at the national stadium."I think that it does show the club are moving forward," Booth added. "To create a little bit of history for the players to be able to walk out in a semi-final and just enjoy the day and be able to experience something that is being done for the first time."Having been through so much this season, to go out and be able to enjoy a cup semi-final at Hampden is an incredible achievement if you think back to the start of the season and all the ups and downs the players have had."
Press and Journal
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Scott Booth accepts Aberdeen Women must defy the odds to beat Rangers in Scottish Cup semi-final but remains hopeful long-term aim of a full-time Dons team can become a reality
Aberdeen Women head coach Scott Booth knows it will take a major upset for the Dons to progress to the Scottish Cup final this weekend. The Dons, who will be playing at Hampden for the first time in Sunday's semi-final, are against a Rangers side who will rightly start the encounter as heavy favourites. The two league meetings between the sides ended in 11-0 and 10-0 victories for treble-chasing Rangers, highlighting the size of task at hand for the Dons. But Booth hopes this weekend's semi-final is an important indicator of the steps made by the Reds this season. He said: 'I joined the club to be able to help them progress and I think this season we've been able to do that to a large degree. 'This game at Hampden is a bit of a reward for the hard work the players have put in but it also shows the intent of the club to be in the final stages of the competitions we play in. 'It's great for this one to be at Hampden and I'll be proud to lead the players out. 'There's obviously a lot of work still to be done. We're definitely not there yet and we have a lot of hard work to continue. 'You're playing against a fully professional team and that's where we want to be. 'We're not there. There is a big space between the teams that are still fundamentally part-time and the teams that are fully pro. 'You could see that this season in the league campaign. There's a disparity between the bottom half of the table and the top half. 'And that comes down to players being 100% full-time against fundamentally part-time players. 'We want to be in the top half of the table. We want to be a club that challenges with the other teams in the top half. And this is, I think, maybe a first for that moment for us. 'Does it come a little bit early? Well, we'll have to wait and see.' Booth arrived at Aberdeen Women in October following the departure only two games into the season of Colin Bell, who had previously guided FFC Frankfurt to Women's Champions League glory and taken charge of South Korea Women. After finishing in the bottom half of the SWPL, the Dons are fighting it out in the second phase relegation group to avoid being one of the three teams who will be demoted in preparation for a smaller 10-team top flight next term. The Dons sit in eighth-spot with a six-point cushion over 10th-place Montrose with five league games to go. The priority this season is to ensure the club remains in the SWPL following a season of transition. Former Aberdeen and Scotland striker Booth joined the Dons on a four-year contract and says the long-term plan remains to create a Dons team capable of competing against the top teams in Scotland. He said: 'I want the players by year four and maybe even earlier to be fully professional because that's the only way that we can genuinely compete. 'There is no way we can compete on a regular basis and be up challenging in the top half of the table without making that step to full-time football. 'To get there, there's a number of challenges, most of all financially. 'But I've seen it done, I've been part of it and I understand how to get there. 'But we definitely need to make sure that the club buy into it completely, that the players are ready for it, that the staffing is in place. 'The structure, be it pitches and the environment, has to be there as well. There's a number of key factors in order to get to fully professional football. 'But I came here with those intentions and that's what I'm looking to achieve. 'A big part of me joining the club was to be part of a project like that. I would love to see Aberdeen Women up at the top of the league and challenging regularly and winning things. I mean, that's what it's about.' The Dons will be without defender Jess Broadrick and midfielder Ellie May Cowie who are both cup tied for Sunday's semi-final. Booth admits it will take an enormous effort from his team if they are to win Sunday's semi-final but believes his players will be stronger for the experience whatever happens at Hampden. He added: 'I think we have to be realistic as a club and, as a manager, I'm realistic about the expectations. 'However it's a cup semi-final and I know for sure the players will give 100% and more if they can. 'I want them to enjoy it, first and foremost. I want them to savour it. I want them to experience it. 'And I want the younger players in the squad to use it as part of their development. 'But it's a one-off game and in football, we know that anything can happen.'
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Nothing to lose for Hampden debuting Dons
When Scott Booth returned to Aberdeen in October, this time as head coach of the women's team, he set his sights high of challenging the top just left Glasgow City, he was realistic and said it would take time. But the Dons are already on the cusp of Sunday, they will leave the Granite City for Glasgow, specifically Hampden, for the first time.A Scottish Cup semi-final against holders Rangers awaits, and albeit a daunting prospect, the excitement has been palpable since their spot was five wins in their last seven, Booth's side make the trip to the southside of Glasgow in good form and crucially, with nothing to the pressure is on treble-chasing Rangers, who comfortably tucked the League Cup into the cabinet last month after they demolished Grant Scott's side got revenge in fashion in the SWPL at the weekend and leapfrogged Jo Potter's side to regain top in the bottom half of the table, Aberdeen picked up a morale-boosting 5-2 win against Queen's Park, which relegated the Spiders in the are no cobwebs to brush off for Booth's side, they have the freedom of the national stadium to enjoy their they may just dare to dream...
BBC News
24-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scottish Cup semi-final dates, times & TV coverage confirmed
Record-winners Glasgow City will have their Scottish Cup semi-final with Motherwell next month televised live on BBC One winners City return to Hampden Park on Saturday, 26 April for a 12:15 BST kick-off against Paul Brownlie's 2023 semi-finalists. The following day, holders Rangers - who lifted the SWPL Cup on Saturday - face Hampden debutants Aberdeen. The 14:10 kick-off will be live on BBC Ross' City were taken to extra-time by last year's finalists Hearts, having already defeated reigning league champions Celtic in the previous round. Motherwell comfortably saw off second tier Boroughmuir Thistle to secure their second trip to the Potter's Rangers, who have their attention now on a domestic treble having ruthlessly swept by Hibs at Fir Park in the first cup final of the season, defeated The Spartans while Scott Booth's Dons beat St Johnstone to book a maiden trip to the national stadium.
