SCOTT Brown has stressed that Rangers are under intense pressure to beat his former club Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup final - and predicted that failing to lift the trophy will be a “huge kick” to the Ibrox club.
Philippe Clement’s on-form side are the bookmakers’ favourites to win at Hampden on Sunday and secure the first piece of domestic silverware of the season despite failing to defeat Barry Robson’s team in their last two meetings.
But ex-Celtic captain Brown, who lifted the League Cup on no fewer than seven occasions as a player, feels the side he spent the 2021/22 season at are more than capable of causing a massive upset this weekend and setting back their fierce rivals’ revival.
“Rangers have to win this final,” he said at a Viaplay media event to promote the satellite broadcaster’s coverage of the match at Hampden. “For the fans, for the manager. They need to put that pressure on themselves.
“Everybody expects Rangers to come here and go and win the game except the Aberdeen fans who expect their side to win. Robbo will expect to win too. It’s a lot of pressure on a young manager, but he wants to be a top manager with that pressure and he will thrive off that.
“This game has that little nasty streak to it. I enjoyed that and I’m sure Robbo enjoys going into these games as underdogs. He has that knowledge that he has already gone to Ibrox and won.
“He knows that he can get results against Rangers playing the style that they do. Hopefully they can go to Hampden and lift that trophy as well.
“That would have a huge kick on Rangers. Especially after Celtic losing last weekend. I’m sure every Celtic fan will be watching the game and hoping just as much as I am that Aberdeen win this game.”
“I’m delighted for Robbo,” he said. “They’ve had a hard schedule, the last couple of weeks especially. They’ve had a lot of away games and to get a home win against Hearts, who were third in the league, was a huge one for him. It hopefully sets them for the cup final now.
“It’s always hard for a young manager, but the good thing about Aberdeen is that they have given Robbo time. He will turn it around and they know he will turn it around. Dave (chairman Cormack) has done a great job bringing Robbo in and giving him that opportunity.
“They have probably spent a little bit more on players than they usually do. So they have put a lot of faith in Robbo and the fans seem to like him as well, which is a good thing. He is born and raised Aberdeen. When you look at him, everything you associate with an Aberdonian is there in Robbo.
“He is a great lad and I still speak to him quite a lot. For me he is doing a good job and it is always going to be hard second season, especially when they hit the heights in the first. He is turning it around and steadying the ship and to get to a cup final is huge for them.”
Brown added: “It’s a huge game. Aberdeen have done really well against Rangers. Even in my time there we usually did really well against Rangers as well. It’s a huge game, but it’s not enough to just play well against Rangers.
“Every single Aberdeen player understands what that game means to the club and what it means to supporters as well. There has been a little bit of hatred between the two sets of fans over the years. It’s a great football spectacle for 90 minutes when it’s like that.
“Then after it you have to forget about it and go your separate ways. You don’t want any trouble afterwards. After the game you forget about it and go your separate ways. The fans will come in large numbers to sing and support their club and I’m sure Aberdeen fans will.”
Brown played in the last Premiership game that Rangers had a penalty awarded against them – way back in January last year in a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie – and joked that Aberdeen should not hold out any hope of getting given a spot kick by referee Don Robertson at Hampden on Sunday.
“Is that the last time they conceded a penalty?” he said with a smile. “I’ve been retired that long! Since they last had a penalty against them! That’s incredible, eh? It’s good to see VAR is working well!
“What are the chances of Aberdeen getting a penalty? None. I don’t think Aberdeen will get a penalty on those stats! Wow!”
Scott Brown was promoting Viaplay’s live and exclusive coverage of Rangers v Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup final. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.
