Calderwood Playing Beyond the 'Watershed'

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood has dismissed suggestions that the Bank of Scotland Premier League clash with Hearts will be a ‘watershed’ for the Dons’ UEFA Cup ambitions.

The Pittodrie side looked comfortable in third place in the SPL table before a dip in form during December undermined their bid for a European spot, allowing Hibernian to overtake them.

The Easter Road side currently enjoy a seven-point lead over the fourth-placed Dons.

But, after the narrow defeat by Rangers last weekend, the Pittodrie boss insists his team can still catch Hibs, starting with a win at Tynecastle tomorrow.

Calderwood said: “I don’t see this as a watershed game because Hibs are seven points clear of us now, but we were seven points ahead of them just before Christmas.

“That shows how quickly things can turn around and we still have them to face a couple of times before the end of the season.

“Obviously, it would be a massive boost for us to win at Tynecastle, but it won’t be the end of the world if we get beat.

“I really don’t think we are that far away now and it would be nice to get ahead in a game as it has been a while since that happened.

“We took a lot of confidence out of how we finished against Celtic and how we played the whole game against Rangers.

“You can see it in some players that their confidence has dipped a bit, but you have to expect that with the very young squad we have at this club.

“What they need to do is continue getting on the ball and not worry about making mistakes because that is what happens in football.

“They are a great bunch of lads, but this is a new position for most of them and, with Scott Severin out at the moment, we don’t have a lot of experience.

“They have to learn from this as it will make them stronger in the future if they come through it, but, if they don’t, then it is a different matter as they won’t be here.”

But Calderwood maintains the trip to Edinburgh still presents a number of obstacles for his side, despite the current run of results by Hearts.

The loss of striker Mark de Vries and defender Alan Maybury to Leicester this month saw John Robertson’s team slip in their pursuit of a European spot.

But the Tynecastle boss has added striker Lee Miller to his squad in a loan deal from Bristol City and the club have not been beaten since Boxing Day.

And Calderwood highlights the midweek 2-1 win at Livingston as a reason why the Dons cannot take the Jambos lightly.

He said: “John Robertson is trying to get them playing more football and it shows how they fight for each other that they won at Livingston, despite being behind with just minutes to go.

“Even when they are playing badly, they dig out results and deserve credit for that because they have done it too many times in recent years for it to be down to luck.

“Tynecastle is a tough place to play because the crowd are right down on top of you and they do influence referees so it is hard to win there.

“It is a great venue for football though but they are one of the hardest teams to beat on their own park and Lee Miller has come in and done well.”

Taken from the Scotsman