Rangers 'not in great place' - Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin eyes Ibrox win
- Published
Aberdeen head to Ibrox this weekend seeking a fourth straight victory
Jim Goodwin insists his Aberdeen side have the self-belief to win at Ibrox on Saturday and pile more pressure on Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Goodwin says there is "a lot at stake" for Rangers, who trail Premiership leaders Celtic by four points amid an unconvincing run of form.
Aberdeen are winless in 11 meetings with Rangers since a 2-0 Scottish Cup victory at Ibrox in March 2019.
"My boys are feeling very, very confident," said Goodwin.
"There's a lot of self-belief within the group and hopefully we can use that to our advantage.
"I've got a lot of time for the manager as well but by their own admission they are not in a great place just now.
"Giovanni van Bronkhorst has said in recent press conferences that they aren't playing to a level that they're capable of and in front of their own crowd last week against Livingston they were below par by Gio's admission, so we have to make sure that that's the case again this weekend.
"I think there is a lot of stake for Rangers this weekend. I think they know that. I'm not trying to play mind games here.
"I think they're well aware the gap between themselves and Celtic has grown last weekend and they can't afford for that to happen again this weekend."
Van Bronckhorst has come under pressure with Rangers - having suffered heavy defeats to Celtic, Ajax and Liverpool - trailing in the Scottish title race and without a point in their Champions League group,
Aberdeen, third in the top flight, have won four of their last five in league and cup and would narrow the gap on Rangers to four points with a fourth straight victory.
Goodwin says third place should be the "bare minimum" for the Pittodrie club.
"The real big thing for us is if we can go to Ibrox and win on Saturday then all of a sudden it brings Rangers that little bit closer to us and puts a little more pressure on them," he added.
"I believe Aberdeen historically is the third biggest team in Scotland. It's up to me and this group of players to try and bring Aberdeen as close as we can back to being that team of the 80's.
"We've done a lot of really good things up to now but I know that there's still so much more to come from the group."
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