Catching Aberdeen

[Austinho]

After dropping points against Partick Thistle, we're now only 2 points behind Aberdeen, with the same number of games played.

Before the split, they play Dundee and St Johnstone at home, and Motherwell and Hearts away. We have Partick Thistle and Hamilton at home, and St Johnstone and Ross County away. Whilst Aberdeen will probably win both home games comfortably, arguably they have a tougher run in. Having drawn both games with Hearts 0-0 this season, and lost 2-0 and 3-0 to Motherwell, I'd fancy us to be level or ahead of them by the split.

Post split however, whilst I'd be nervous about another trip to Pittordrie, their record against the Old Firm and other big games is stinking. I think we might just pip them.

Hell, if Rangers lose to Celtic on Sunday, we'll only be 7 behind them with a game in hand too. Assuming we do claw it back to 4 points, a 3rd hunskelping at Ibrox by us after the split could put them under serious pressure. Probably a step too far to stay as consistent as them until the end, but considering we could still catch a team proclaiming they're still in the title race, it isn't bad going at all.

[Diclonius]

4th would be fantastic for our first season back (hoping one of the teams above us wins the cup). 3rd is realistic, but I think Rangers are probably out of our reach now.

[Austinho]

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4th would be fantastic for our first season back (hoping one of the teams above us wins the cup). 3rd is realistic, but I think Rangers are probably out of our reach now.

They are with that attitude ;)

In all seriousness, I’d also be happy with 4th place, but I hope the manager and players aren’t. Winning a cup and our time in the Championship has built a winning mentality and the more that spreads through the whole club and the supporters, the better. I believe we’re the 3rd best team in Scotland - we just have 9 games left to prove it.

[hibbyfraelibby]

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4th would be fantastic for our first season back (hoping one of the teams above us wins the cup). 3rd is realistic, but I think Rangers are probably out of our reach now.

If The Thes get beat today we can claw them back. Their seadon will then be defined by the Scottish Cup and they will take their eye off the league. 3rd is now in our own hands 2nd we need a wee bit help which will surely come.

[Sir David Gray]

Win every game between now and the end of the season and 3rd place is ours.

It's in our own hands now.

[theonlywayisup]

Our record since the start of the year in the league is:

WLWWWDW - 16 points out of 21 available, during a time we played Celtic, Rangers, Dundee and Kilmarnock away and Motherwell, Aberdeen and Hertz at home.

That's a fantastic return from seven tough games.

Even the three games before that, we had two draws against Kilmarnock (H) & Hertz (A), plus a win at home against Ross County.

We've been on a great run, but it feels as if we're constantly playing the better teams.

Now, we have to look to take twelve points from the next four games. If we do, then we have a real chance of at least third place. We've put pressure on the teams above, we can't let them off by dropping points in these games.

When you get into the post split games, then anything can happen. Theonlywayisup!!

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

I will be happy if we win all our pre split matches and then take it from there. Second place is gone I think. If The Rangers win today that keeps the title still open and maybe going into the top six games it could work in our favour that both The Rangers and Celtc have points to play for.

[Just Jimmy]

2 pts behind Aberdeen?

Imagine if they hadn't cheated us at the PBS...

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[danhibees1875]

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Win every game between now and the end of the season and 3rd place is ours.

It's in our own hands now.

2nd if we do that.

[StevieCowan]

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2nd if we do that.

Agreed. 👍

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

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2 pts behind Aberdeen?

Imagine if they hadn't cheated us at the PBS...

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Or even better had we taken our chances against Aberdeen when they did us 0-1 at home.

[wookie70]

4th and in Europe would be a very good return but it is now in our own hands to finish 3rd so that has to be the minimum target. Killie will have their eyes set on getting fourth so it will be an exciting run in either way.

[Sir David Gray]

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2nd if we do that.

We are guaranteed to get 3rd if we win all our remaining games. 2nd would also require a slip up by Rangers, even if we won all our games.

[danhibees1875]

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We are guaranteed to get 3rd if we win all our remaining games. 2nd would also require a slip up by Rangers, even if we won all our games.

With our game in hand the game v them, they would have to win every single game of to stay ahead of us.

[Just Jimmy]

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Or even better had we taken our chances against Aberdeen when they did us 0-1 at home.

Absolutely. On current form we can expect to make a run at 2nd and 3rd.

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[Sir David Gray]

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With our game in hand the game v them, they would have to win every single game of to stay ahead of us.

We are currently 7 points behind them having played the same number of games.

Even if we win every game, they would be able to afford to lose one other game and still finish above us.

We can currently get to 78 points, if Rangers win every game except for a loss to us, they can reach 82 points.

[danhibees1875]

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We are currently 7 points behind them having played the same number of games.

Even if we win every game, they would be able to afford to lose one other game and still finish above us.

We can currently get to 78 points, if Rangers win every game except for a loss to us, they can reach 82 points.

I was working on the assumption they'll lose today (not looking good on that front). Meaning we'd be 1 point worse off after winning all our games so they couldn't slip up.

[Spike Mandela]

It’s a cliché but we really need to just take one game at a time and try to play to the best of our abilities. Every game will be difficult as teams are starting to fight against relegation and have their own targets.

Whilst aiming to get more points than Aberdeen we need to keep our feet on the ground and a watchful eye on the resurgent Kilmarnock.

[NAE NOOKIE]

We certainly have a chance of finishing 3rd, but IMO 2nd is gone, the Huns go 2 - 1 against Sellik as I type. I watched the 2nd half of Partick v Aberdeen last night and Partick didn't half throw them off their stride with a high pressing game in that half ,,, Christie, a player I rate, was awful and GMS who came on as a sub totally gave up after a firm challenge on him ... I don't speak Gaelic, but you could tell the commentator was pointing it out, GMS's body language was awful.

Anyway, I digress ..... Our record as a top 6 team is somewhere between bang average and rubbish, if we want to finish 3rd we have to overcome that and play every game as if it was a cup final.

It looks like we will have to play away at Ibrox, Pittodrie and the Rust Arena in 3 of our 5 top 6 games .... that's a hell of a tough schedule for any team.

[Clarence]

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It’s a cliché but we really need to just take one game at a time and try to play to the best of our abilities. Every game will be difficult as teams are starting to fight against relegation and have their own targets.

Whilst aiming to get more points than Aberdeen we need to keep our feet on the ground and a watchful eye on the resurgent Kilmarnock.

True dat

[Jack Hackett]

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We certainly have a chance of finishing 3rd, but IMO 2nd is gone, the Huns go 2 - 1 against Sellik as I type. I watched the 2nd half of Partick v Aberdeen last night and Partick didn't half throw them off their stride with a high pressing game in that half ,,, Christie, a player I rate, was awful and GMS who came on as a sub totally gave up after a firm challenge on him ... I don't speak Gaelic, but you could tell the commentator was pointing it out, GMS's body language was awful.

Anyway, I digress ..... Our record as a top 6 team is somewhere between bang average and rubbish, if we want to finish 3rd we have to overcome that and play every game as if it was a cup final.

It looks like we will have to play away at Ibrox, Pittodrie and the Rust Arena in 3 of our 5 top 6 games .... that's a hell of a tough schedule for any team.

We have to play some games away, and tbh, I think we have more chance of getting something from Ibrox than if the game is at ER. We just seem to excel there. Hertz at tiny? Pfft... we own them. Aberdeen away would give me the most cause for concern. We have come a long long way from our last appearances in the top 6 and should give a much better account of ourselves. 3rd is very achievable imo

[Vini1875]

Finishing 3rd would be grand, but it is very likely that even in 4th one of the teams above us will win the cup and hand us a Europa spot.

[Billy Whizz]

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Finishing 3rd would be grand, but it is very likely that even in 4th one of the teams above us will win the cup and hand us a Europa spot.

2nd lets us into Europe 2 weeks later, it’s achievable

[Eyrie]

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It looks like we will have to play away at Ibrox, Pittodrie and the Rust Arena in 3 of our 5 top 6 games .... that's a hell of a tough schedule for any team.

We're due three home games and two away. Assuming the current top six stays the same then we've already visited Parkhead, Ibrox and Rugby Park twice with one trip to Pittodrie and Tynecastle, so our post-split fixtures are straightforward - home to Celtc, Sevco and Kimarnock, away to Aberdeen and Hearts. That ensures fairness in the race for second and an even split of the derbies.

The only problem is that Sevco have faced everyone twice at home, so two teams will need to visit Ibrox a third time. Celtc won't be asked to do that, and it would be unfair for either us or Aberdeen to do so when all three clubs are competing for second. However there has been a suggestion that we'll get shafted because we're treated as the lowest seed based on 2016/17 despite being higher up the table in 2017/18.

So we could lose out twice - losing a home game and having to play at a direct rival.

[NAE NOOKIE]

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2nd lets us into Europe 2 weeks later, it’s achievable

It is now after todays result. You have to think blowing it against 10 men and losing any chance of catching Celtic will affect the Huns, for them 2nd is nowhere if Celtic win the league. Even though I highlighted how tough our post split schedule will be its not lost on me that Aberdeen are like a rabbit caught in the headlights when they face the uglies and as tough as it is for us, its just as tough for everybody else.

If we beat Hamilton in our rearranged game we are 15 points ahead of the Yams so they are out of the equation for anywhere above 5th place ... Killie are still in the hunt for 4th, but 8 points is still a fair deficit to overcome in 9 games.

[Souter96Mac]

If we keep us this form we'll finish 2nd

[Ozyhibby]

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We're due three home games and two away. Assuming the current top six stays the same then we've already visited Parkhead, Ibrox and Rugby Park twice with one trip to Pittodrie and Tynecastle, so our post-split fixtures are straightforward - home to Celtc, Sevco and Kimarnock, away to Aberdeen and Hearts. That ensures fairness in the race for second and an even split of the derbies.

The only problem is that Sevco have faced everyone twice at home, so two teams will need to visit Ibrox a third time. Celtc won't be asked to do that, and it would be unfair for either us or Aberdeen to do so when all three clubs are competing for second. However there has been a suggestion that we'll get shafted because we're treated as the lowest seed based on 2016/17 despite being higher up the table in 2017/18.

So we could lose out twice - losing a home game and having to play at a direct rival.

If it’s based on seeding from last season then there is no reason Celtic shouldn’t be asked to go back there as Sevco were third last season.


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[Sweet Left Peg]

We are on a good run of form and confidence will be high in the dressing room. The more games that Kamberi, MacLaren and Allan play together, the better they will gel with the rest of the team and each other. Early signs are good and our regular starting 11 will improve game on game. We should be aiming to win every game that we play because we have the collective ability to do so; we have shown that already this season. If we cut out the stupid lapses in concentration and "off-days", then there is no reason whatsoever that 2nd place isn't achievable. There is no doubt in my mind that the management and players will see 2nd as being a realistic target, as things stand.

[LancsHibs]

I’m not conceding 2nd place yet, all to play for!

[Sir David Gray]

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I’m not conceding 2nd place yet, all to play for!

Winning on Friday is a must. Rangers know now that the league is gone. I firmly believe that a lot of their intensity in recent weeks was with today in mind, knowing that a win would draw them very close to Celtic. Now the title's all but gone, they only have the cup to play for and it wouldn't surprise me to see all their efforts go into that between now and the semi final.