Dimitar Mitov reveals Celtic disappointment as travel red tape forces family of Aberdeen star to miss Hampden final

The Scottish Cup Final will be one of the biggest games of his life - but he won't be able to share it with his nearest and dearest

Disappointed Aberdeen star Dimitar Mitov has revealed his family will miss the Scottish Cup Final because of red tape.

The weekend Hampden showcase against Celtic will be the biggest game of his life but he won’t be able to share it with his nearest and dearest.

Mitov has admitted new travel rules have meant that his mum, Kostadinka, and dad, Veselin, didn’t have enough time to get a visa to visit the United Kingdom from Bulgaria.

The keeper confirmed: “I don’t have anyone coming over to the final because unfortunately my mum and dad can’t make it due to the new rules with visas into the UK.

“It’s very frustrating because potentially it’s one of the biggest games of my life and my family are not able to be here.

“We didn’t know the rules changed in April so you have to apply a lot further in advance and they don’t have enough time to do it.”

His parents came across to see him at Christmas but haven’t seen him play in the flesh for Aberdeen.

The Bulgarian international revealed that they will need to make do with the television on Saturday afternoon.

“They were able to come over last Christmas when we played Kilmarnock away,” the former Charlton player confirmed.

“I told my dad he could drive my car there but he didn’t like the idea of driving on the other side of the road!

“For work and different reasons they haven’t been able to come over to watch a game at Pittodrie but we will have to bring them over next season.

“I have lived in the UK for 12 years on my own so I’m used to it and they will be supporting me from home.

“The game is going to be live in Bulgaria too, there’s a lot of noise back home about it too.

“It’s going to be amazing anyway and I know they’re supporting me.”

Treble-chasing Celtic go into the game as overwhelming favourites. They dismantled the Dons 5-1 on Wednesday and since then they have lifted the Premiership trophy.

Aberdeen, in contrast, have lost their last four games and ended up finishing, disappointingly, in fifth, after they lost to Dundee United at the weekend.

Mitov believes if Aberdeen can keep their shape and be compact then they have the players to hurt the Hoops.

The Pittodrie No. 1 stated: “They are a very good team, they have a specific way of playing with runners in behind and good individuals.

“With Celtic, they can blow teams away very quickly. They can do that to anyone in the league.

“So it’s important to stick to the principles we’re good at. It’s all about being compact and trying to stop the spaces.

“If we can do that, it neutralises their strengths and if we do that we can show how good we are.

“We can hurt Celtic, for sure, but we have to show that.”

Aberdeen shocked Celtic at Parkhead when they came from 2-0 behind to claim a point, during their unbeaten start.

That gave the champions a jolt and since then they have won the last four outings.

The first one was when the teams last met at Hampden. Rodgers’ men cruelly hit the Dons for six in the Premier Sports semi-final in November.

Mitov acknowledged: “In the League Cup semi-final, you saw the impact in football of not being in the right positions.

“They saw that and exploited it straight away, they are good at it and that’s why they are the champions.

“They are the best team in the league, they show it week in and week out.

“So you need to be near perfect against them.

“Nobody in football is perfect, so mistakes happen but it’s how you react to it and regroup straight after it.

“How does your team-mate help you? How do you help the person who made the mistake?

“If you see your mate make a mistake, you have to run for him, you have to help him solve it.

“When you do that, it brings the crowd up, they get involved and everyone gets that extra boost and belief.

“When that happens it’s powerful, such a powerful thing to have.

“You always have to stick to the plan, even if you go a goal down stick to what you are doing.”

The 28-year-old knows to upset the odds it needs to be very much a team performance rather than being about any individual.

Aberdeen have shown that when it comes to a one-off game they can rise to the occasion.

They beat Rangers at Pittodrie and with the comeback point against Celtic. Thelin will certainly be hoping that is the case again when it comes to his first cup final.

Mitov added: “Before I moved to Scotland I’d seen them in the Old Firm games so you know they’re a really good team. “But playing against them, you realise how good they are.

“But that’s a good thing to have in the league, top teams who play in the highest competitions in football.

“You want to test yourself against them, see how good you are and improve on the back of it.

“For us, it has to be about the team rather than individuals. You have to have a team performance.”