Fraserburgh manager shares his 'plan' to stun Rangers, taking inspiration from Dundee
01/17/2025 09:00 AM
Make no mistake, Fraseburgh have no intention of bowing down and rolling other when they face the mighty Rangers at their iconic Ibrox home in Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash.
No, Mark Cowie has ‘a plan’.
A plan which, he hopes, can be the catalyst for one of the greatest ‘cupsets’ of recent times as the Aberdeenshire outfit – based in the fifth-tier of Scottish football – look to produce a coupon-buster for the ages on the blue side of Glasgow.
To say Rangers will be heavy favourites to progress to the fifth round would be an understatement.
Even if Philippe Clement shuffles his pack – youngsters Zak Lovelace and Bailey Rice were praised for their performances in training this week and could be rewarded with a start – anything other than a heavy home win would represent a success for visiting Fraserburgh.
Fraserburgh boss shares his ‘plan’ to stun Rangers at Ibrox
Though, speaking to Rangers Review, manager Cowie insists that, while a repeat of that fabled 1959 victory over Dundee is unlikely to be repeated at Ibrox, a few recent Rangers slip-ups does give Fraserburgh some semblance of hope.
"We’ve got a plan,” says Cowie.
“We’ve worked on a plan for the last couple of weeks, and we’ll try and implement that as best as possible. But I’ve told the guys that even our best laid plan, they will find gaps in it. So, it’s all been [about] reacting to situations.
"Once the day comes on Sunday, [the players] will have to try and take ownership themselves, which they’re probably not used to. They’ll probably hear me enough from the side but, on Sunday, it won’t be possible. It’s a massive task.
"There’s no pressure really on us. Nobody expects us to go there and do anything. But I’ve watched a couple of games of Dundee of late, and I think they’ve shown that maybe you don't need the ball to get results.
“So we’ll be along the same lines as that kind of performance. But we’re really looking forward to it."
Fraserburgh can take inspiration from Dundee’s Gers draw
One of those Dundee ‘results’ came against Rangers only a week ago.
Tony Docherty’s team kept their expensively-assembled visitors at arms length as Rangers’ ‘outrageously poor’ away form in the Scottish Premiership continued with an insipid 1-1 draw at Dens Park.
Dundee mustered only 23 per cent of the possession that night but restricted Hamza Igamane and co to just three shots on target.
And Cowie knows that a similar performance – Fraserburgh likely to sit back and defend deep themselves – represents their best hope of replicating that iconic victory over the Dark Blues all of 65 years ago.
The Gers do, at least, head into Sunday’s fixture with their confidence somewhat restored.
Rangers cruised past Aberdeen 3-0 on Wednesday night in what was their most complete, coherent and free-flowing performance of 2025 to date.
"I think, if you asked me [about the challenge of facing Rangers] seven days ago, it would have been different," Cowie adds. "I think the results in the last two home games have increased the atmosphere, especially in Wednesday night’s win over Aberdeen.
“I think that reinstated what I think most of the supporters are looking for as a club. We know we’re up against probably an impossible task, but we’ll give it a go.”
