Anthony Stewart gave an honest appraisal when asked regarding Rangers strike pair Alfredo Morelos and Antonio Colak but in doing so, he created a juicy headline as well as a headache for his gaffer.
It was a moment of honesty from the English defender but his retort to the question was one that he probably wouldn’t repeat if a similar situation arises. By giving his own feeling that he would rather face the Colombian international instead of the German-born Croatian striker, Stewart also left himself open to doubt in Sunday’s game, given his individual errors in the recent meeting between the sides at Pittodrie.
It was a straight question regarding which of the strikers he thought was better and a direct response was given but Goodwin did not approve of what was only really naivety or honesty, depending on your perspective:
“Anthony hasn’t meant any disrespect with the answer he’s given. It’s regrettable that he got drawn into that type of conversation and I can’t see that happening again in the future. Anthony will learn from it and the other players will learn from that type of comment as well. In future I think he’ll do better to avoid it.”
“I’ll say what I wish my captain had said – they are both very good strikers, both proven at this level. But we are not going to fear the opposition on Sunday, that’s the biggest thing.”
Response
As it is, Colak is very doubtful to be taking part at Hampden given the issue picked up in Dundee last week but Aberdeen have plenty to think about without him. They are no longer the physical force that they were in previous seasons and have already been beaten twice by Rangers this season, with the late sucker punch at Pittodrie a few weeks ago providing an interesting prelude to what happens this afternoon.
Their response will say a lot about what Goodwin is capable of with his team but the focus will be on Rangers application and rightly so.