Beware My Pest Mate

Mar 9 2008 By Mark Guidi

Celt Fears Hart Break From Dons Pal Miller Aberdeen V Celtic Today, Kick-Off 12.45pm Sky Sports 1

PAUL HARTLEY fears his good mate Lee Miller will ruin his hopes of winning the Scottish Cup for the third year in a row.

Celtic step up their defence of the trophy in today's quarter-final and midfielder Hartley is braced for a backlash from Miller's Aberdeen.

The Pittodrie side are still smarting from their 5-1 home drubbing by Celts last month and the CIS Cup capitulation to Dundee United that killed off their Final dream.

Now Hartley, who won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 2006, reckons on-form striker Miller will lead wounded Dons' fightback and is the biggest threat to his hopes of making it three on the spin.

Dangerman Lee - who gave Rangers a torrid time last weekend - has an extra incentive to shock Celts and grab the headlines with teams ready to snap him up on a Bosman in the summer.

Jimmy Calderwood's side will be fired up to salvage their last chance of silverware and Hartley is adamant they mustn't be taken lightly.

The 31-year-old said: "The cup has been good to me recently, having won it in the last two years with Hearts and Celtic.

"Three in a row would be nice but Aberdeen will be a tough game.

"Going by their league position and disappointing result in Munich they're not on form but will see this as their last chance to win a trophy.

"They'll be disappointed with the CIS Cup semi-final defeat by United and want to make up for that in front of their own fans. We also beat them 5-1 up there a few weeks ago and played well.

"It was one of those games where everything clicked into place. We scored some terrific goals.

"But they have the ability to score and cause us problems. I played with Miller at Hearts - he's a real talent and doing well at the moment.

"I also played with Alan Maybury and Scott Severin at Hearts. Aberdeen have good players who are dangerous and I'd say Lee is probably the biggest threat.

"He has had a great season. He's out of contract this summer and Aberdeen will be keen to sort that.

"Lee had a terrific spell at Hearts three years ago when he scored 10 or 11 goals on loan from Bristol City. He has a great touch and is doing well this term."

Hartley will also be reunited with other familiar faces at Pittodrie. Dons No.2 Jimmy Nicholl signed him twice and Paul also enjoyed a good working relationship with Sandy Clark at St Johnstone.

The Scotland midfielder said: "Jimmy took me to Millwall then brought me back to Raith and Sandy was my gaffer at Saints.

"I enjoyed working with both - they're excellent coaches.

"It's probably quite different becoming a coach after spending time as a manager but they seem to have taken to it.

"Jimmy had a difficult spell when he signed me for Millwall. He got four of us from Scotland but the club was having a few problems.

"Having moved from Hamilton at 19 it was difficult for me and I didn't settle well. Millwall went into administration and Jimmy took a lot of abuse from some fans.

"He'd tried to find players he knew but it didn't work out.

"Most of us managed to get back up the road after a year. It was probably the wrong club at the wrong time because Jimmy had a successful spell at Raith, winning the League Cup and taking them into Europe.

"He was highly rated as a gaffer and at Raith had a great time when bringing through young guys such as Stevie Crawford, Colin Cameron and Jason Dair.

"He had a good way with players and we enjoyed working with him. The training was excellent.

"Nic had a serious side too. Although everyone has seen him having a laugh he wasn't a soft touch on the training ground.

"I have a lot of time for Jimmy and every time we go to Aberdeen I have a chat with him."