Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes believes the criticism his players received after their 3-0 defeat at Hamilton was unfair.
The Dons have a chance to gain revenge on the New Douglas Park side in tonight’s League Cup quarter-final at Pittodrie.
Aberdeen ended a 19-year wait for a trophy by winning the competition last season and will be desperate to make it to the final four again this year.
McInnes reckons his Reds have displayed good enough form in the build-up to this match to feel confident they can reach the semi-finals.
He said: “People keep talking about the Hamilton game or us not keeping clean sheets.
“Rather than dwell on that side of it, look at the fact we’ve only lost one game in seven. We have won five and drew against St Mirren, who we battered.
“So, it’s a decent run we’re on, one defeat in seven would have been good enough for this club for a long time.
“The reality is, we’re on a decent run but lost to a bad result. Clearly, it wasn’t a good enough performance because it was a heavy defeat. But we took the criticism, and rightly so, and responded the right way against Motherwell.
“But people still want to talk about the Hamilton game.
“We never get too excited when we win games and don’t get too down when we lose. We just want to improve and take each game as it comes.
“This is a chance to defend a trophy we had success in last season and at the moment it’s ours until someone beats us.”
McInnes confirmed Scott Brown will remain in goals for the Dons after keeping a clean sheet in Friday’s 1-0 win against Motherwell.
But the Aberdeen manager praised the manner in which Jamie Langfield has responded to being dropped to the bench.
He added: “Scott will play against Hamilton because I think that although he didn’t have much to do last week he did OK.
“Jamie asked to play in the reserve game against Dundee, which is an indication he wants to do things properly.
“I wasn’t expecting anything else, good professionals respond the right way, and Jamie will want to make sure he’s ready to return to the team.”