Aberdeen midfielder Leighton Clarkson is determined to salvage the season by securing Scottish Cup title glory.
The Dons have suffered a nightmare campaign in the Premiership and will play out the post-split fixtures in the bottom six.
Managerial instability has also rocked the club with three managers in the dugout this year – Barry Robson, Neil Warnock and interim boss Peter Leven.
The Pittodrie hierarchy have appointed Jimmy Thelin, 46, of Swedish top flight club Elfsborg as their next permanent manager
However Thelin, together with assistants Christer Persson and Emir Bajrami, will not take on the management role at Pittodrie until early June.
Interim manager Peter Leven will continue to lead the first-team until the end of the season.
Clarkson says the Dons players respect Leven and enjoy playing his style of football.
And the former Liverpool star reckons ending the Dons’ 34-year Scottish Cup drought can transform a “bad” season into a “great” one.
Aberdeen face cup holders Celtic in the semi-final at Hampden on Saturday.
The 24-year-old believes Aberdeen can stun the Hoops to take a step closer to lifting the trophy for the first time since 1990.
He said: “We have the chance to get to a final and win a trophy that would turn a bad season into a great season.
“In the Premiership we haven’t been good enough all year.
“We are the first to admit that although we did get to the final of the Viaplay Cup and narrowly lost to Rangers (1-0).
“We know what we’ve got in the dressing room and we will go there to beat Celtic.
“We’ve already beat Rangers in Glasgow (3-1, Ibrox in September) this season so we know we can do it.
“Now it’s just about showing it.”
Aberdeen players’ respect for Leven
Interim boss Leven will manage the Dons in the semi-final at the national stadium.
The 40-year-old first team coach is in his second term as interim boss following a short period at the helm immediately after Robson was axed.
Clarkson said: “Peter has done a good job and he’s a guy that a lot of the players respect and his sessions are really good.
“It’s fun but he gets a lot out of you and the way he wants to play football is what we as players want as well.
“However long he’s in charge for we are going to try our best and go into every game to win.
“I like to think I’m the type of guy that likes to control games and have a bit of freedom and he’s given me that.”
Confidence from recent Celtic clash
Leven will remain at Pittodrie next season and will work as an assistant first team coach under Thelin.
Leven was in interim charge for a 1-1 draw with Celtic at Pittodrie on February 3.
Neil Warnock was then appointed interim boss until the end of the season, but quit the position after only 33 days.
Clarkson takes belief from the draw with Celtic under Leven’s management.
He said: “We should have won that game as we performed really well against Celtic that day.
“Of course they are a really good team and you do have to nullify them.
“You also need stages in the game when you have to keep the ball off them and make them run a bit.
“On the day we will have a game plan and set-up that will be successful.
“Rangers and Celtic are two really good teams as they’ve proved in Europe and all season in the league.
“But we have gone to Ibrox and won and should have beaten Celtic at Pittodrie with the chances we had at the end.
“We do go into every game knowing that we can win.”
Driven by recent cup final heartache
Clarkson is hoping to ease recent Hampden heartache when facing Celtic at the weekend.
The pain of losing the Viaplay Cup final to Rangers, under former boss Robson, in December is still raw.
Aberdeen were denied a clear penalty in added time when Duk was fouled from behind by Rangers keeper Jack Butland.
On his memories of Hampden, Clarkson said: “They are not great but the Hibs one (Viaplay semi-final, 1-0) was the best because we won that one.
“It’s a brilliant occasion to go down there to Hampden for both the players and the fans.
“That final was a game with nothing in it really, limited chances and maybe not a great game for the neutrals.
“There was a decision at the end when Butland’s come out and thrown Duk to the floor and that was wiped off.
“Little decisions like that can change everything.”
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