Aberdeen midfielder Jamie McGrath has backed Bojan Miovski to win the Tynecastle battle of the best strikers in Scotland.
Republic of Ireland international McGrath reckons Dons goal hero Miovski and Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland are the top hitmen in the country.
They will go head to head when Aberdeen face third-placed Hearts in Premiership action at Tynecastle today.
North Macedonian international Miovski, 24, has netted 17 goals in all competitions this season.
Scotland cap Shankland, who played for Aberdeen from 2013 to 2017, has scored 19 goals in all competitions this campaign.
McGrath is confident Miovski can come out top in the battle of the hotshots in a clash that will be key to keeping alive Aberdeen’s hopes of finishing third.
He said: “Bojan and Lawrence Shankland have been the two best strikers in the country this season.
“They’re both scoring regularly.
“Both have been in flying form and everything they touch seems to be going in at times.
“Hopefully Bojan can continue his streak for us, he’s on fire at the moment.
“He’s never taken his foot off the pedal this season and hopefully that keeps going.
“We know all about Shankland.
“He’s a top-class striker, he scored against us earlier in the season.
“So he’s someone we respect and know we’ve got to keep quiet.
“Will Bojan want to come out on top this weekend? I’d say so.
“Bojan just wants to score goals and be the best, so he’ll be desperate for more goals in this game.”
Nothing fazes star striker Miovski
Miovski’s scoring form has not gone unnoticed as Celtic and English Championship side Southampton were linked with a potential January swoop for the Dons striker.
Clubs in Italy, Spain and Germany are also understood to be tracking the 24-year-old.
Aberdeen have no plans to sell Miovski before the transfer window closes at 11.30pm on Thursday.
The striker also delivered a major boost by underlining he has no plans of exiting Pittodrie this month.
Miovski took his tally to 17 goals this season when converting a penalty in the 1-1 draw with St Johnstone on Wednesday.
The striker had missed his previous penalty but McGrath said he had no hesitation in stepping up to take the spot-kick in Perth.
He said: “Bojan is a confident fella, he likes the responsibility and you could see that with the way he grabbed the ball for the penalty against St Johnstone.
“He missed his last one, but that doesn’t faze him because he backs himself to score every time.
“I tried to get it off him but he wasn’t having it!”
Aberdeen can still overtake Hearts
Aberdeen trail third-placed Hearts by 16 points but hold three games in hand over the Edinburgh club.
The clash at Tynecastle holds huge significance in the Dons’ bid to emulate last season by finishing third in the Premiership.
That third-placed finish guaranteed European group stage action and a cash bonus of around £5 million.
Hearts are in control in the race to finish third and McGrath accepts the need to immediately close that gap.
Aberdeen are in the midst of a seven year win drought at Tynecastle having last beaten Hearts away in 2017.
McGrath, 27, said: “We have to get points on the board as quickly as we can.
“We are unbeaten in our last three so we feel like we’re in a good place, but we need to get wins.
“Do we still feel we can overhaul Hearts? It’s about taking it one game at a time.
“Last season the lads went on a long run of wins (to overhaul Hearts in third) so that shows what can be done.
“We’ll have to be at our best against Hearts to give ourselves the best chance of three points.
“It’s always a difficult place to go and I’m aware we haven’t won there since 2017.”
Lessons learned from Perth setback
Aberdeen suffered a setback on Wednesday when blowing a 1-0 lead to draw with St Johnstone in Perth.
A win would have slashed the gap on Hearts to 14 points ahead of the Tynecastle showdown.
McGrath said: “We need to see games out better.
“When you look back on some games this season there are times we should have done better.
“It was disappointing the other night, I felt we were in control of the game and had created a few more chances.
“We could have scored a couple more to go two or three up.
“However we then lost a sloppy goal and had to settle for a draw.
“It was one of those games you just have to forget about and move on.
“Hopefully we can give our supporters something to cheer about at Tynecastle and send them home happy.”
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