Jonny Hayes is urging his Dons team-mates to edge one step closer to retaining the League Cup by beating Hamilton Accies in the quarter-finals at Pittodrie tomorrow.
The Irishman was unable to play a major part in last year’s cup-final success against Caley Thistle after injuring a shoulder in the opening minute of the match.
The 27-year-old, however, knows it won’t be easy for his side against Accies, who defeated the Dons 3-0 earlier this month.
Hayes said: “We hope to reach the final again but our focus is simply on beating Hamilton. Winning the tie would give us something to look forward to in the new year.
“Last season’s final is something we can look back upon with pride but you can’t hold on to that memory.
“If we do get to the final again, hopefully I will be able to last longer than five minutes. That was unlucky but the main thing was the boys won the match. If we get there again I hope I can play a bigger part.”
Hamilton have been the surprise package in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Alex Neil’s men were favourites for relegation at the start of the 2014-15 campaign but head the table after 11 matches.
Hayes has been impressed by Accies but feels the Dons can go into the match with confidence after beating Motherwell 1-0 last Friday.
He said: “Hamilton are the form team and they’ve shown in the last couple of months that their season is no fluke.
“It will be a good challenge for us in the League Cup as we aim to retain it. It’s not about revenge, just the chance to show we are better than what we were at New Douglas Park.
“Teams are maybe still figuring Hamilton out.
“When I came up to the top league when I was at Inverness, teams figure you out and how you play after the first dozen games and how to combat you.
“They’ve got some very good players and they are a young team, a very exuberant team. They make it difficult for opponents to play against them.
“We were disappointed with our performance against them, although we can’t take anything away from how they played.
“It was the worst we had played since Boxing Day a couple of years ago when we were beaten by Motherwell 4-1 at Fir Park.
“Although Hamilton beat us 3-0 we could have scored three or four goals. We were disappointed with our overall performance.”