Ray McKinnon knows exactly how much Saturday’s League Cup semi-final will mean to the Dundee United and Aberdeen players.
The current Brechin boss starred for the Tangerines and the Dons during his playing career and experienced the “New Firm” rivalry from both sides of the fence.
Assessing the present-day strengths of the two teams, the 44-year-old admitted that they are evenly-matched sides and he believes the game is too tight to call.
However, McKinnon is in no doubt that the thousands of fans flocking to Hampden at the weekend are in for a special treat.
He said: “Aberdeen and Dundee United are both flying high in the league at the moment.
“Everybody is excited going to watch them.
“Aberdeen are getting big crowds of 17-18,000 and there’s a real buzz up there. They are challenging Celtic for the league which in some ways is unbelievable.
“Few would have expected that at the start of the season.
“United are also up there challenging so it has the makings of a great cup tie.
“There will be some great young players on show and the teams have two good young managers.
“So it could be one of the best games for a while.
“United are scoring goals from every area just now. Nadir Ciftci is obviously a big threat along with Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong.
“Young Charlie Telfer is also scoring goals and Aidan Connolly has come in and done well. They also have Chris Erskine who has chipped in with a few.
“So there are lots of options up there which is impressive from Dundee United.
“Aberdeen have Adam Rooney whose goal-scoring record speaks for itself, David Goodwillie who will be up against his old club and I really like Peter Pawlett. He carries the ball brilliantly, a bit like Armstrong for United.
“I like the boy Lawrence Shankland and the lad Declan McManus has come back from Morton and is a livewire.
“Aberdeen have a similar squad to Dundee United in terms of their front players they have a lot of threats and young lads ready to come in.
“I think the way United play, they are slightly more open, whereas you can tell by Aberdeen’s defensive record that they play off a really solid foundation but still score lots of goals going forward.
“So they have slightly contrasting styles which should make for a game.
“I certainly don’t see it as a 0-0 draw. There will be chances in the match but I really can’t pick a winner as the sides are just so evenly matched.
“Here’s hoping it will be a cracker.”
McKinnon admitted he has great memories of playing for both sides however as someone who was brought up as a United fan and then a player, he confessed that it was “bizarre” when he first came back to Tannadice with the Dons.
He said: “I remember playing for Dundee United against Aberdeen, up against boys like Jim Bett, Neil Simpson, Robert Connor and Willie Miller.
“United also had a lot of great players like Dave Narey, Maurice Malpas and Dave Bowman.
“There was real quality in those days and they were incredible games.
“I have good memories playing for both clubs against one another.
“They were always competitive, hard games because it was the big derby.
“At the time, Dundee weren’t really in the frame that much so Aberdeen and United games were the big east coast derbies.
“They were great games to play in with full houses and a superb atmosphere.
“Coming back and playing for Aberdeen against United was, I have to admit, a bit bizarre.
“Obviously, I had been brought up a United fan and I signed for the club twice.
“So it was strange coming back but you just had to be as professional as possible.
“When you get on that park, everything changes. The game just unfolds and you have to play it.
“There just isn’t time to think about things like that but it was bizarre in the build-up to the game knowing that you were going to play against your old club especially with such a big rivalry.
“I can only imagine what it must be like for people like Mo Johnston who did it with the Old Firm.
“I think it was different for me because I was a local boy.
“That made it much more difficult.
“Your family back you but I don’t think I had many friends in those days, especially when I was at Aberdeen!
“Most of my pals are staunch United fans so if we won at Tannadice, it was straight back up the road to Aberdeen for me.
“To be fair, I always got a really good reception when I went back to Tannadice and after the games.
“Of course, I returned to United after Aberdeen and that wouldn’t have happened if the fans had been against me because I had played for their big rivals.
“So I have always had a good reception from the United support as they know that I was a fan as well.”
McKinnon played under some great managers including Jim McLean and Brian Clough but he admitted he learned a lot from his boss at Aberdeen, Willie Miller.
He added: “Willie was excellent. There was a big transition at the club.
“Boys like Alex McLeish, Stewart McKimmie and Jim Bett were coming to the end of their careers up there.
“Willie had to rebuild and I don’t think he got the time to do that.
“I thought he was a fantastic manager but he was having to rebuild during a season.
“I learned a lot from him in terms of man management skills. He was really on the ball.”