Barry Robson insists Aberdeen won't fear Rangers in Viaplay Cup final showdown

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson says his side head into the Viaplay Cup final without fear and he expects his players to give everything to achieve success.

The Dons go into Sunday’s final against Rangers at Hampden on a high after an impressive 2-0 win over Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa Conference League.

They now face a Rangers side who also enjoyed a boost in Europe with a 3-2 victory over Real Betis in a Europa League thriller.

Robson says his side respect their cup final opposition but aren’t scared of facing anyone.

“You should never fear, you should always respect,” the Dons boss said.

“We massively respect Rangers. They’s a huge football club with some really good players.

“We know we’re the underdog and we’ve got loads of respect for them but we don’t fear anything, we don’t fear anyone.

“We want to go into that game and show the best versions of ourselves.”

Robson, who won the League Cup as an Aberdeen player in 2014 and with Celtic five years before that, said the key to success was in making the most of the occasion but also putting in a hard shift.

He feels that the experience his side has gained in European competition has already helped them in learning the right approach.

“Try and enjoy it,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.

“What they have got now is some really big games under their belts. That’s going to be a real positive going into the game.

“These players are hungry and they want to do well. We signed these players because they were hungry.

“Just go and enjoy the occasion. Run for your club, work for your club, and for yourself. Bring the best performance you can on the day and it gives you a chance to win.”

The last game between the sides saw Bojan Miovski score after just 11 minutes at Pittodrie but a last-gasp penalty from James Tavernier salvaged a draw for the visitors.

On Sunday, Robson says concentration and effort from start to finish will be needed if his side are to be the ones lifting the trophy at full-time.

“It’s always nice to score goals first but also if you lose the first goal you can’t let that affect you,” he said. “Yes, we want to start well in the game but if we’re going to achieve anything then it needs to be a 95 or 100 minute performance and not just a good start.

“We need to bring everything, every minute of the game and be concentrated and be at our best.”