'I watched Aberdeen win two trophies - now I want to end their Scottish Cup dream'

Drawing Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup is a dream come true for Elgin City boss Allan Hale, but the diehard Dons fan is now out to end his boyhood club's ambition of lifting the world's oldest trophy.

The last time the Reds won silverware, Hale was in the stands as he watched Derek McInnes's men lift the League Cup in 2014 by beating Inverness in a dramatic penalty shootout.

He was at Hampden 19 years earlier when the Dons won the Coca Cola Cup, and has been a massive fan of the Pittodrie club his whole life, even taking in some of their famous European nights.

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Now though, he wants to make his mark with Elgin, having steered them to the top of League Two and drawn Aberdeen in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, writes the Daily Record.

And he admitted Aberdeen at Borough Briggs was the game he wanted, as Hale said: "Personally, from a selfish point of view, it's the draw that I wanted.

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"I’m a life-long Aberdeen fan. I’ve sat in the terraces at Pittodrie for many years. I was young enough to see them lift the Coca-Cola Cup in 1995.

"That was the first chance I got to see the Dons lift a trophy. I was down at Park Red (Celtic Park), I always call it that, to see them beat Caley Thistle on penalties as well.

"I’ve experienced some of the European nights as well. To play Aberdeen in a competitive fixture will certainly be a great life experience for myself, individually.

"But for the club and the town it's a great reward, for navigating through two really difficult ties. We beat Clyde and Kelty Hearts.

"You can see the excitement just from the reaction and the volume of calls and messages that all of us in the club have received. Hopefully now, the supporters can get right behind us and with both seats of fans they can sell out Borough Briggs. It’s a really big occasion for the football club and the players."

Hale also has Aberdeen to thank for helping him with his coaching career. He spent time in his younger years working in their academy and in the Community Trust programme.

Hale knows however he will have his hands full trying to come up with a plan to stop Jimmy Thelin’s on-form Dons side, who reached the semi-finals of the League Cup earlier this season.

The Elgin manager explained: "It's been part of it. I worked with them in the community and the youth department many years ago as well.

"So I've always had that connection to the club and looking at them now and seeing how well Jimmy Thelin’s done. Since he's taken over and they've got a real brand and a real identity and how they play the game now.

"You can see that this season alone the volume of sell-outs that they've had at the Pittodrie shows that the club's on an upward trajectory themselves with the squad and the togetherness that Jimmy's pulled together. It’s a great occasion for us to play, you know, one of the in-form teams in the country as well."

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Elgin also have a couple of players within their squad, in Lyall Booth and Mark Gallagher, who both started their careers at Pittodrie. The tie will be a sell-out and regardless of the result will see Elgin pocket a major payday.

The former Huntly boss added: "There's a few players in the squad like Lyle Booth and Mark Gallagher who have been at Aberdeen and have that connection to the football club. There are also players, board members and volunteers around the club that are avid Aberdeen fans, the same way that I am.

"So it's going to be an experience to savour and hopefully come the time that we can put in a good level of performance and really showcase the club in a positive way.”