The Dons may still be reeling after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Rangers, but former Aberdeen defender Brian Irvine remains convinced Derek McInnes’ side will complete its objectives of finishing second in the Scottish Premiership and reaching another cup final.
Pedro Caixinha’s Light Blues ended Aberdeen’s run of 10 successive home wins with three quickfire goals in the space of four minutes to reduce the gap between the teams to nine points with six games to go.
The Dons still face a trip to Ibrox after the split, but Irvine in confident McInnes’ men have too much quality to be caught and will close out a third consecutive runners-up place, behind champions Celtic. And with a Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibernian to look forward to on April 22, Irvine, a member of the 1989-90 double cup-winning side, believes this will still be a memorable season for the Dons supporters.
He said: “There is no danger of Rangers catching Aberdeen in the league.
“I’m sure Rangers are still going for second and they may been more motivated on Sunday as they really had to win to give themselves any chance of finishing higher than third.
“For Aberdeen, whether they had won or lost against Rangers, it wasn’t going to change anything. They will definitely finish second. That may have played a factor on Sunday.
“Aberdeen still need to get a couple of results between now and the end of the season to make sure of second place, but I expect them to do that. There is absolutely no way I can see Aberdeen finishing anywhere other than runners-up this season.
“I expect them to beat Hibernian in the semi-final so to finish second and reach two cup finals would be an amazing season.”
The Dons take on an in-form St Johnstone side on Saturday in their final match before the Hampden match against Neil Lennon’s Hibernian.
Irvine added: “It was a pretty positive display from Aberdeen against Rangers apart from the five-minute capitulation. These things can happen in football. Aberdeen have been on a good run so it highlights a loss even more when it comes along. When the team gets into that winning habit, the players and the supporters can start thinking it is going to happen all the time.
“It was a disappointing defeat, especially because it was against Rangers.
“But it has to be remembered Aberdeen have lost only two league matches in 2017.
