Aberdeen can Stand Free no longer burdened by the weight of history – Gannon

Ninteen years, 120 minutes and then f****** penalties.

Stewart Milne’s brilliantly breathless line after the 2014 League Cup final has gone down in Aberdeen folklore.

It perfectly summed up what it meant to be a Dons fan. The ecstasy after the agony, the redemption after a long stretch in Shawshank.

Dandies partied like they’d won the World Cup but it was a heck of a feast following two decades of famine.

They are back at the table again today but this time it feels different.

Kicking about the Granite City this week and the atmosphere has been completely chilled out.

Back in 2014 you could feel the desperation hanging in the air like the harr on the harbour. Folk were walking around with 1000-yard stares.

Derek McInnes did a fine job of playing it down but he must have felt enormous pressure. The trophy drought wasn’t just a monkey on their backs, it was a King Kong after a dozen beers and a munchie box.

This final is going to be a breeze compared to two years ago.

No team has had to carry such a burden as back then – apart from Hibs in the Scottish Cup.

But to come through it – eventually – took bucketloads of guts and with a large chunk of the players still at Pittodrie there’s no way they’ll wilt at Hampden this afternoon.

Celtic might be stronger and they may well be too strong, but it won’t be a bottle job from the Dons, that’s for sure.

It’s been a funny week of build-up. One manager said trophies don’t define him and the other saying they do. The strange thing was it was the Celtic boss saying the former and the Dons man coming out with the latter.

McInnes has already secured his place in Aberdeen history. He took a pair of jump leads to a clapped-out club that was heading for the scrappy after five seasons in the bottom six.

He’s turned them in to the second force in Scotland these past few years and made inroads in Europe, but it’s not enough for McInnes.

After nearly four years at the helm he’s thinking about his legacy.

He wants tangible success – and that means winner’s medals.

Goodness knows the town could do with a bit of joy. Union Street used to be teaming every night of the week but now it’s a ghost town.

Their team is on the up but the backside has fallen out of the Granite City economy.

But another cup win would certainly put smiles on faces in that neck of the woods. It would also back up everything McInnes has built.

He’s seen plenty of sides win cups. St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Inverness, Ross County, Hibs, they’ll all managed to lift trophies but Aberdeen want to be a cut above the rest.

McInnes wants his Dons era to be defined by silverware.

Today won’t have the stress of the last one but it would be an even bigger achievement – purely because of what stands in their way.

This is not Ronny Deila’s Celtic. This is the Brendan Rodgers’ version and it’s an entirely different animal.

Aberdeen are rank outsiders with the bookies for that very reason but it’s no foregone conclusion. The Dons might have lost to them twice this season already but they showed enough to suggest they can give them a game.

McInnes knows it as well. He is not a man to speak in headlines but you get the sense he fancies this.

No wonder. Celtic might have been credible against Barcelona in midweek but taking on Messi and Co takes its toll.

The massive pitch at Hampden is no hiding place either. Rodgers might be cool on the Treble talk but don’t be fooled. That pressure is on and this is a final Aberdeen want to win but Celtic simply have to win.

There’s been plenty of people suggesting the Dons should have a go at the Hoops. Steady on. Going gung ho would be bold but it could also be kamikaze stuff.

There’s no need either.

Aberdeen’s best chance might be rope-a-dope. Keep it tight and try to take Celtic the distance. See how those weary limbs cope after trying to catch the Catalans a few days earlier.

Maybe all the way to effing penalties…

Pick your Dons team for the Cup Final