Aberdeen may have a decent track record at Rangers in recent years but Derek McInnes admits his side cannot afford to stumble out of the blocks on Sunday like they did when the teams last met at Pittodrie.
The Reds had not tasted victory over Gers at Ibrox for quarter of a century before McInnes’ side smashed that hoodoo by beating Pedro Caixinha’s Light Blues back in May 2017.
Steven Gerrard’s team have also had their difficulties against the Dons in Glasgow, twice losing at home to their rivals from the north east as well as suffering Hampden heartache in the semi-finals of the Betfred Cup in October 2018.
McInnes, however, was disappointed with the way his side kicked off this season’s campaign at home to Rangers back in August, when they failed to lay a glove on a team that currently tops the Premiership table having yet to lose a game, going down 1-0 to Ryan Kent’s winner.
But the former Rangers midfielder believes his team can make another successful raid on Ibrox by copying the blueprint to their previous Govan triumphs.
He said: “It is a challenge. Rangers are obviously a good side but we can take confidence from our record against them in Glasgow of late. From our last 10 games down there we’ve won four, drawn one and lost five so we’re pretty even in that aspect.
“We certainly have to play a lot better than we did in the first game of the season. We all accept that.
“Our best players that day were defenders but we didn’t do nearly enough with the ball. We didn’t show enough aggression or personality in the game.
“But if we can take the confidence from previous games where everyone has taken responsibility, brings a high level of performance and gets the balance right between attack and defence then we know we’re capable of getting a result.
“The players should take confidence from previous experiences but recognise that in all these games where we have had positive results in Glasgow, the personality and the intent of the team has been clear. That’s what I’ll be looking for on Sunday.”
And McInnes expects Sunday’s showdown to be a case of Rangers’ unstoppable force coming up against an immovable object in the shape of Aberdeen’s away defensive record.
He said: “Rangers have got a strong record at home. But we haven’t lost a goal away from home this season, we’ve got a strong away record – but it will need to be another if we’re to get a result.
“You’d assume that it will have to be our best performance of the season for us to get a win. The league table doesn’t lie. Rangers are at the top doing particularly well at the minute.
“They look a hungry team as well as a good team.
“To overcome that we’re going to have to do well. We’re going to need big performances from everybody in a red shirt. Hopefully that will be the case because if we do, we certainly have a chance.”
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