OUTSIDE the Old Firm games, the matches against Aberdeen are the ones the Rangers fans probably want to win the most and that has been the case for a long time.

As a player, I think I won up there twice in 13 years. It was always a hard, hard place to go and win games and thankfully Rangers’ record at Pittodrie has improved.

This team have proven that they can go up there and win. They were unfortunate to drop two points on the opening day of the season when they were by far the better side.

And they were the better team a couple of weeks ago when they won 4-2. That result will certainly give everyone a bit of confidence

But this game is different. It is a one off in the cup and, quite simply, it is must-win for Rangers.

And it would be a victory the supporters would certainly savour if they could go to Pittodrie and beat one of their fiercest rivals.

The animosity between the supporters really started to intensify maybe just before I joined Rangers and then I had the situation with Doug Rougvie in the cup final all those years ago.

We all remember the horrendous tackle on Ian Durrant from Neil Simpson and that was probably the moment that brought it to the fore.

That challenge put him out of the game for so long and the Rangers fans have never forgotten or forgiven that. The Aberdeen fans are still singing about Durranty now and that is absolutely ridiculous.

It has gone back many, many years and the fans just can’t take to each other. And we know there are certain pubs in the city that have Rangers players’ faces on the urinals.

The Rangers players and the Rangers fans know that they are hated in Aberdeen and the best thing for them is to go up there and get a positive result.

There is no need for any silly songs or fighting or anything like that. Just win the game and then get yourself back home.

I don’t think the rivalry is quite the same player wise yet because the majority of players in the Rangers squad don’t have that history of facing Aberdeen. They will have had an insight into it this season, though, and the Rangers fans within that squad will leave the rest of them in no doubt about how important it is to beat Aberdeen.

If you look at it, every game is now a must-win for Rangers. If they lose in the league, then there is almost no chance of them lifting the title this season, and if they get beat in the cup then they are likely to finish the campaign without any silverware.

That is the pressure that the players are under just now and they have put themselves into that situation with some of the silly games that they have drawn or lost this season. They can’t afford to slip-up now and their attitude has to be right in every game.

They have played really well in the last three matches and scored 14 goals without reply, and that could have been more. That is a good sign, but they have to keep that going.

If Rangers are going to win anything this season, it is most likely to be the Scottish Cup.

You can never give up in the league whilst there is a chance.

If you are a Rangers player or a Rangers fan, you will never give up.

But they are just three Scottish Cup games away from a winner’s medal so Sunday is obviously a massive, massive game.

Steven Gerrard will have it in the players’ heads how important every single game is and hopefully they can go there and get a really important result.