Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has urged the club’s support to roar their team to Hampden when the Dons face Hearts in the Betfred Cup quarter-final tomorrow.
A place in the semi-final at the National Stadium awaits the winners at Tynecastle in what promises to be a tense and testing encounter for the Dons.
Aberdeen supporters witnessed a display which lacked in style but was full of substance at Livingston on Saturday where goals from Andy Considine and Sam Cosgrove gave the Dons a 2-0 win in what was a dogged display.
There may have been precious little to cheer about other than the goals but McInnes knows a win in Gorgie tomorrow against the Jambos will give the supporters something to celebrate.
He said: “Saturday was about getting to Livi, getting the three points and a clean sheet and we managed to do that. On Wednesday it will be all about trying to get through to another semi-final and hopefully the fans can play their part in helping us achieve that.
“The fans will see the team playing much better this season. We’ll get the ball down and pass it well and not get the win, but that’s what life is like following a team home and away.
“In the last five games we’ve had three wins and two draws and we’ll try to go again and produce a performance which gets the club through to another semi-final. We won’t have anyone back for Tynecastle but we are looking forward to it.”
Injuries to Funso Ojo and Craig Bryson, plus the absence of Stephen Gleeson, who has just returned to light training after suffering a knee injury in June, leave Lewis Ferguson and Dean Campbell as the recognised fit first-team central midfielders for the trip to the capital.
The trio join Ash Taylor and Scott McKenna on the sidelines and with none of the absent players available tomorrow McInnes has few options available in defence or midfield.
But he believes the attitude shown by his patched-up side at Livingston on Saturday bodes well.
He said: “We had to defend well but we worked hard for our clean sheet and it pleases me that despite the injuries, being quite young in certain areas and not having enough tenacity at times, that we’ve still been good enough to win a game.
“When you play in the Premiership, especially on the road, your goalkeeper has to make one or two saves but our concentration levels were good. It was awful to watch at times but it’s all about keeping the opposition away from goal at times.
“Our away record last year was excellent but it was achieved in different ways. On Saturday we fought fire with fire and the pleasure comes not from watching the game but from winning. We did what had to be done and it will be much the same again at Hearts.”