In less than a week, Celtic face Aberdeen in the highly anticipated Scottish Premiership top-of-the-table clash.
For Brendan Rodgers, The Dons will be his biggest test of the season so far as Celtic look to maintain their unbeaten domestic record.
For Jimmy Thelin, the game at Celtic Park will deliver proof of whether or not a resurgent Aberdeen can really challenge the Bhoys for the title and split Celtic and Rangers for the first time since 2018.
Joe Lewis was the Pittodrie goalkeeper in that season and was in the side that beat Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic 1-0 at Parkhead on the final day of the season to finish as runners-up.
So does Lewis really believe that his old club can go one step further and really challenge Celtic for the title?
Lewis points to Leicester City as motivation for Celtic challenge
In that 2017/18 season that Aberdeen finished second, they did so 19 points behind Rodgers’ Double Treble winners.
With the Celtic boss investing heaviliy in his team in the transfer window, Lewis still believes that if Thelin can get at least a draw, then it could spur a Scottish Premiership title shock similar to that of Leicester City’s shock Premier League win in 2016.
Lewis told the Daily Record, “A draw would definitely make Celtic and Rangers think there’s another contender. Actually, it will ruin our perfect record! But a draw away at Celtic is a great result.
“I’m sure the manager and lads would take that now. People are saying: ‘Can we get second?’ But we’ve won every game so far so you don’t know where it can take you. Other teams can go through a dip and, if you can just keep on going, look at what Leicester City achieved. Everyone thought halfway through their season ‘They’re going to slip up.’
“But they kept on doing it and went through the whole season. You just have to ride this wave of confidence and positivity. The boys are flying. They can’t possibly go into the game with any more confidence.
“That’s crucial because we’ve not been to Celtic on this much of a high for a long time. Celtic will have a bit more respect for Aberdeen than previously. The manager and players absolutely deserve that. We want to carry on the momentum.
“A win would be incredible. Then people really will start, if they haven’t already, taking notice of what’s happening. There’s no reason why the Dons can’t keep this going because they’re proving that they’re a top team.”
Aberdeen’s last four title challenges vs Celtic
As previously said, Aberdeen’s last title challenge to Celtic was back in 2018 when they finished second behind Rodgers’ team.
But there were three other occasions when the Pittodrie club tried and failed to challenge the Glasgow giants for the league.
With Rangers still trying to get back into Scotland’s top-flight, Aberdeen emerged as Celtic’ main challengers.
Season 2014/15 was Ronny Deila’s first of two season’s at Celtic. Derek McInnes was the Aberdeen manager and placed second a full 17 points behind Celtic losing all four fixtures in the league.
2015/16 saw a slight closing of the gap as McInnes finished 15 points behind Deila’s Celtic winning two out of the four league ties between the two clubs.
However, the arrival of Brendan Rodgers saw Celtic blow The Dons away in 2017 as the Hoops picked up an Invincibles Treble beating Aberdeen on six occassions in all competitions.
The point is, if Aberdeen really want to challenge Celtic then they have to turn up against the current Scottish champions.
Losing nine out of the last 10 fixtures against the Hoops doesn’t bode well for Aberdeen but it seems that in Jimmy Thelin, they have a manager who has instilled confidence and belief in the team.
Will that be enough to carry the Pittodrie club through a whole season? It’s highly doubtful but Celtic and the supporters will not take anything for granted come the 19th of October.
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