Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says his side will not give up the League Cup trophy without a fight.
The Dons progressed to the final four of the competition thanks to an impressive 1-0 win against Hamilton Accies last night.
Aberdeen were beaten 3-0 by Scottish Premiership leaders less than a fortnight ago but McInnes’ Reds were excellent in the first half and were deservedly in front at the break thanks to Adam Rooney’s 12th goal of the season.
The Dons dominated the match but a superb display from Hamilton stopper Michael McGovern kept the New Douglas Park men in the contest until the end and prevented the Reds winning by a more comfortable margin.
Aberdeen defeated Caley Thistle on penalties in last season’s final and the Aberdeen manager sees no reason why his side cannot triumph once again.
McInnes said: “Every team in the final eight of the competition would have fancied their chances of getting to the final.
“We have not conceded a goal in the League Cup since we came in. We have put in some good performances in the competition.
“We are proud of what we achieved last season but we want to be sitting here talking about having retained our trophy.
“Teams like Aberdeen put that pressure and demand on themselves to try to get to cup finals. We have produced two strong performances in the League Cup.”
The Dons will be joined by Celtic, Rangers and Dundee United in the League Cup semi-finals, which take place on January 31 and February 1 next year.
McInnes says he doesn’t care who the Dons get in the draw, which will take place on Saturday. But he says none of the other teams will fancy taking on the defending champions.
He said: “I am just glad to be in the semi-finals. There are four decent sides in the draw.
“Whatever the draw throws up we will be tough opponents for whoever we get.”
McInnes, meanwhile, was hopeful that Peter Pawlett would not be out of action for too long after limping off during the second half of last night’s match.
He said: “He was complaining about a calf injury which started to tighten up. I don’t think it is anything too serious but we will have to wait and see.”