It is five years to the day since Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes ended the Dons’ long wait for silverware with success in the League Cup final.
The final against Caley Thistle turned out to be a nerve-jangling if uneventful encounter which ended goal-less after 120 minutes before the Dons emerged victorious in the penalty shootout.
The victory at Celtic Park earned Aberdeen a first trophy in almost two decades but McInnes does not want to wait much longer to get his hands on a second piece of silverware.
His side are only 90 minutes away from a Scottish Cup final against either Hearts or the Caley Jags after defeating Rangers 2-0 in Tuesday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay.
Neil Lennon’s treble-chasing Celtic will stand in their way when the sides meet in next month’s semi-final but McInnes is desperate to go one step closer to making another addition to the Pittodrie trophy cabinet.
He said: “I would rather win a cup than finish second in the league and if I have to sacrifice runners-up spot for a trophy then me and every Aberdeen supporter would say the same.
“Winning the League Cup was a brilliant start for us that year and any manager going into a club has to try to make a quick impression.
“Lifting that trophy helped galvanise things here as it gave the players confidence and it gave the supporters belief after so long without one.
“I thought then as I do now that there are still more trophies for us to win and as good as that was, we still feel a lot of motivation from five years ago is still there.
“We have been up against a really good Brendan Rodgers team that has maybe denied us a couple of times to win another one.
“Now the aim is to be in a position to win another cup but to do that we are first going to have to beat another strong Celtic team when the semi-final comes round.
“I’ve probably seen Adam Rooney’s winning penalty (from the 2014 final) about 100 times but I’ve never watched the full game again as it was a tough watch.”
While McInnes admits he would swap a fifth successive runners-up finish for Scottish Cup success, the Aberdeen manager has not given up on catching second-place Rangers.
Steven Gerrard’s men, sitting second to leaders Celtic, are eight points ahead of the Dons with nine games remaining.
The Dons will hope to close the gap by beating Livingston at Pittodrie today, while hoping the Gers slip up at home to Kilmarnock.
McInnes said: “We know there are points available that can get us to where we want to be and qualify for Europe which is very important for the club.
“But if we attain the points that I’m hoping for in the remaining nine games then we will be there or thereabouts for second or third.
“We have work to do if we are going to achieve that. Rangers have shown their qualities this season and they are rightly where they are in the table.
“So it’s a big ask to make up the eight point gap with the number of matches left to go but it’s not impossible.
“We just need to concentrate on getting to the points tally that I want us to and if we do then we will be pleased with our season where ever we end up.”
