THERE has been that much talk surrounding the Betfred Cup semi-finals that it will be a relief when we actually get down to the football at Hampden and Murrayfield later this month.

We have had statements from clubs, comments from managers and the supporters of Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts have been up in arms about everything from tickets to kick-off times.

It has been a bit of shambles since the start to be honest and it doesn’t look good for the people that have made the decisions all along the line.

That is something that the SPFL and the SFA will need to learn from because Scottish football has come in for a lot of criticism over the last couple of weeks as this has all unfolded.

In the end, I think the SPFL have got it right, though, and hopefully now everything is in place and the stage is set.

After the furore over where and when the games between Rangers and Aberdeen and Celtic and Hearts were going to be played, we have had another argument about the ticket allocations.

In that regard, I think the SPFL have got it just about right and there was no way that Aberdeen should get a 50/50 split for Hampden.

It would be terrible if there were empty spaces in the stands for what will be a great spectacle and you can’t have supporters being turned away while row upon row lies empty.

So Rangers had to get more tickets than Aberdeen and the Dons, with an increased allocation of around 20,000 in the South Stand and West Stand, can’t really complain here.

I know they wanted North Stand tickets as well but that would have impacted on the number of Rangers supporters able to see the match and could have left sections empty if they didn’t sell all of their tickets.

I think Aberdeen should be delighted with 20,000 because everyone that wants a ticket for their end should get one. That is more than they get at Pittodrie on most weekends so everyone that watches them regularly will be there at Hampden on October 28.

That won’t be the case for the Rangers support. There will be thousands upon thousands, many of whom will have been home, away and abroad so far this season, that won’t get a ticket.

So Rangers should have got the majority of the tickets and I think Aberdeen should be delighted to receive the number that they have.

You have to try and make it as far as you can for both clubs and both sets of supporters because it is a cup semi-final. But for Aberdeen to get more than their average crowd, surely they can’t have any complaints now?

Every Aberdeen fan that goes to Pittodrie gets a ticket, plus they have an extra couple of thousand. Rangers aren’t getting that, nowhere near it.

I think the SPFL have done it fairly and I don’t see how anyone at Aberdeen can bleat about this now. They have done well out of it and the SPFL have been very fair.

Hopefully now they can sell all of the tickets they have been given. I think they will because the rivalry between the clubs is intense and the majority of Aberdeen fans hate Rangers and their supporters.

Games with Aberdeen have always been battles, they have always been hard-fought, and this one will be no different.

I expect exactly the same this time and Steven Gerrard and his players will too.

Rangers have a far better side this season and they were unlucky not to win at Pittodrie on the opening day of the Premiership.

I think Rangers are good enough to go out and beat them at Hampden but Aberdeen do have experience of playing there and of big cup games.

They have got to the latter stages several times in the last few years and they will be banking on that. Rangers have the better players, though.

I just hope that in the days building up to it we will be talking about the football on the park rather than issues off it because that is what people want to see.