Captain Scott Severin frets over stormy waters

Aberdeen may have experienced a rollercoaster season but for Scott Severin, in his first term as team captain, the highs have been more memorable than the many lows they have encountered, particularly in their league form.

Severin, the first signing made by Jimmy Calderwood when he assumed control at Pittodrie almost four years ago, has been looking more like the midfield player he was in his early days with the club and when he was a vital component in the Heart of Midlothian side before joining Aberdeen.

His sometimes indifferent form may have been linked to his talents being utilised in the centre of defence on several occasions, when he often looked unhappy and out of place. Now, however, with the gloom having lifted over the club, the form that prompted his manager to sign him has returned and, last night when he surveyed his first season as captain, he awarded himself pass marks.

Today, he hopes to emulate great Aberdeen captains such as Willie Miller, Alex McLeish and Stewart McKimmie by encouraging, coaxing and cajoling his side through what could be a tricky Scottish Cup semi-final against Queen of the South at Hampden Park.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join such an illustrious group,” he said. “At the start of the season, just to be named captain and then do so well in Europe as well as sneaking into the top six of the Premier League and into two cup semi-finals has meant a decent season. To reach the final would cap it all for me.”

Severin refused to be carried away by the excitement of the occasion as 15,000 Aberdeen fans prepare to flash their red and white scarves at the national stadium, despite the opposition being from the Irn-Bru first division and therefore the underdogs. He remembered Aberdeen’s appearance in a CIS Cup semi-final against Dundee United this season and the thumping they took on a night that still festers away inside Pittodrie. “After going 1-0 up we just fell apart,” he said. “They got an equaliser quite early and then it was just a disaster after that. There was no togetherness or anything.

“Dundee United just ran over the top of us that night and that will be playing at the back of our minds at Hampden, knowing that we can’t put in a performance like that. We need to be confident on the ball. We know we can create chances. We just need to take one or two of them.”

Pre-match mind games between the sides has gone on this week with Steve Tosh, an influential and vociferous performer in the Queen of the South midfield and a former Aberdeen player, texting Severin in an effort to wind him up. “You always hear him before you see him,” the Aberdeen captain joked. “He was here only a year before I joined Aberdeen and he did well for the club. He did well with Gretna, too, and now he has another Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to, so he must be doing something right. You can never keep him quiet. I hadn’t heard from him for ages but he texted me the other night. So the winding-up has already started.

“I also played with Neil MacFarlane for a couple of years in the Hearts midfield. He’s a great player to have in your team and I think he’ll show that for Queen of the South. He’ll do the dirty work. He’s not the flashiest player but he gives everything in every game. It is a massive game for them as well and an opportunity for them to make history by getting to the final.”

Severin conceded that last Monday’s victory over Falkirk to take the last available place in the top six of the league was an important game for the club, securing his own record of never having found himself in a team who have been forced into the bottom half of the table come the split.

“I didn’t want to experience the bottom six,” he said. “It’s good to have a part to play in who wins the league and who will be third and if we can get past Queen of the South, we will also have some big games in front of us in the league. In the last few days, boys have been jumping off the treatment table and declaring themselves fit for Hampden. It’s good for competition.”

Severin was among the Hearts youth players at Hampden when the Tynecastle club beat Rangers 2-1 in the 1998 Scottish Cup final and remembered a gala occasion where the underdogs won on the day. He does not want today’s underdogs to reach the May 24 final.

“It’s a showpiece, the final, and I think all players would love to play at the end of the season,” he said. “We have a real opportunity of getting there. We’ll be going in as favourites but we will be giving them the respect they deserve. You’re not a bad team if you get to a Scottish Cup semi-final.

“It will be difficult. Many of our boys will not have played at Hampden and that will be a big factor, but we hope we can start the game brightly and go on to be winners.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk