Why Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov issued an…

Why Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov issued an apology for being a 'pain in the a**'

DIMITAR Mitov has apologised to the Aberdeen physios for being a "pain in the a**" during the build-up to the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final - but vowed to make a nuisance of himself in the final and prevent Celtic from completing the treble.

Mitov made his return to action after a month on the sidelines with a shoulder injury against Hearts at Hampden on Saturday and helped Jimmy Thelin's side to record a narrow 2-1 win over Neil Critchley's team after extra-time.

The Bulgarian keeper, who had been out of action since the Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland in Plovdiv last month, revealed that he had been desperate to be involved in the showpiece match and had pestered the Pittodrie medical staff for treatment constantly.

"I was pushing," he said. "I was training like crazy, being in the gym, doing as much rehab as possible, just to get me back for that game. You know, I was just being a pain in the ass. I have to say sorry to the physios. Thankfully we managed to do it. It was really helpful that the manager put his trust in me and put me in goal.

“It was very difficult being out. But there is a lot to play for in the run that we go into, we're playing against top teams in big games. Obviously, there is the cup final to look forward to, but we will be trying to finish as high as possible in the league. Ask any football player and they will tell you the same thing, you want to play in those big games, you want to be involved.

"For me, it's just been a very unlucky season with injuries. If you look back at my history, I've never been injured. Just all of a sudden something happened, I don't know what. But, listen, I'm happy to be back, happy to be helping the team and hopefully that is it and there are no more injuries.”

Mitov, who has firmly established himself as Aberdeen's first choice goalkeeper since joining from St Johnstone in the summer, is eager to finish what has been a turbulent season for him personally and his club as a whole on a high. He has targeted third place in the Premiership and a first Scottish Cup success since 1990.

(Image: PA Wire) “I don't really remember a season with so many highs and lows, but that's what makes football exciting," he said. “That's what makes everything here so special with this group of guys. We had the highs early in the season, to the lows in mid-season and now we are getting on a high again.

“That just shows character, that shows just growing together. The manager has been big into this, bringing up this philosophy of never giving up attitude and always wanting to be better, always wanting to improve. You can see that the team is playing better and better and when we play together more and more games, the team is only going to improve.

“I hope we can go all the way in the cup. There's no secret about it. We want to win the cup, that's why we're in the final. But I don't want to think about a game that's a couple of weeks away. We have more important games before then. But when the final comes we will be ready for it. We're happy, but the job's not finished."

Mitov was helpless to prevent Aberdeen from slumping to their first defeat of the season when they played Celtic in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden back in November - but he is confident that he and his team mates are a more formidable outfit now than when they suffered that humiliating 6-0 drubbing.

"We played against a really, really good team that managed to punish us," he said. "The quality they had at the time? We just couldn't cope with. But in those games, you probably learn more about yourself as a team than any other game.

"I feel like we've done our homework since then. First and foremost, we had to stop allowing chances to get created against us because we were conceding way too many chances. Bringing new players into the defence has helped a lot.

“But we know we have quality in our front players. Kevin [Nisbet] has been firing, [Leighton] Clarkson has been really good and they are players that can win games for us. As long as we give them a solid base at the back, as long as we ensure that everything is solid and calm, we give them the opportunity to go up there and win us games.”

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