Bazza Fit For Killie

Last updated : 21 April 2006 By Stand Free Ed

BARRY Nicholson has been declared fit to start Saturday's crunch UEFA place battle with Kilmarnock at Pittodrie.

But he may have to put up with a start from the bench as it has arguably been the consistency of team selection that has led to the Dons excellent recent run.

Aberdeen have come from languishing in eighth place in February to qualify for the top six thanks to a five-game unbeaten run, and now have their sights set on Europe.

Jimmy Calderwood has been slated from some parts of the Dons support for tinkering with team selection too much this season, and perhaps he now realises this was the case.

The Dons gaffer has made only one change to the team in the last four games - Ricky Foster coming in for Stevie Crawford last week.

Nicholson was on target the last time the Dons faced Killie in a 2-2 draw at Pittodrie during a great run of form that made even the cynical Dons supporters realise why Calderwood shelled out £¼m for him last summer.

The hard-working midfielder returned to the squad last week after recovering from the brutal Roy Keane tackle that left him with a broken rib and punctured lung, facing his old club for the last few seconds as the Dons ground out a well-deserved draw.

Nicholson told the Evening Express: "I'm fit to face Kilmarnock at the weekend although selection is a bit of a worry with the boys doing so well.

"It was nice to play against Rangers but it's up to the manager if he wants to pick me for the next match although I feel fit and am raring to go.

"Everyone has been going on about how Kilmarnock have had a great season. But if we beat them we will go above them and we've supposedly had a bad season."

Looking forward to tomorrow's game, Dons captain Russell Anderson said that he is looking forward to having a cup final every week until the end of the season.

He told RedWeb: "For both sides, if we want to finish fourth, it's a game we need to win, us even more so than Kilmarnock of course.

"They know they can win here because they've already done it this season, so we'll need to hit the best form we have if we're going to win and carry the season on into yet another must win game against Hibs next week. "