GRIM & BEAR IT

Dons legend Bell fears Scots sides will never again conquer Europe

- BY FRASER WILSON

DOUGIE BELL was part of the last Scottish side to conquer Europe 42 years ago - but the former Aberdeen and Rangers ace fears we might never see the likes again.

Pittodrie legend Bell helped Sir Alex Ferguson's Dons side reach the Cup Winners’ Cup Final in 1983 only to miss the glory in Gothenburg with a broken ankle as Real Madrid were sent packing.

He made up for that a few months later when Hamburg were dumped over two legs as Aberdeen lifted the European Super Cup and sealed their spot as the best on the continent.

Talents like Gordon Strachan, Eric Black, Mark McGhee, super sub John Hewitt, Alex McLeish, Jim Leighton and skipper Willie Miller drove the Dons to their greatest-ever heights.

But as the latest round of Euro action approaches this week, those days seem a distant memory with Bell's two former clubs propping up the second and third tier competitions.

Forget giantkilling - they have become the victims of some monumental maulings, not least Rangers’ 9-1 aggregate rout at the hands of Club Brugge and Aberdeen's 6-0 humiliation in Athens 11 days ago.

It's not even halfway in the Euro league phases. But with no points on the board from three games it's already last-chance saloon for Rangers’ Europa League bid when Serie A giants Roma visit Ibrox on Thursday.

And it could be lights out in Larnaca for Aberdeen who head to Cyprus in the Conference League after a pointless start to their Euro campaign.