SEMI ATTACHED
Super Sunday solution restores McInnes’ faith
DEREK McINNES admits he is delighted the authorities eventually saw sense and sorted out the Betfred Cup semi-finals venue fiasco. The proposed early Hampden kick-off for the Dons’ clash with Rangers sparked outrage from the Red Army. The bizarre plan to stage both semis at Hampden on the same day meant Aberdeen were due to kick off against Steven Gerrard’s side at noon, 15 minutes before the arrival of the first scheduled train from the Granite City into Glasgow. So the Aberdeen boss is glad the last-four clash between Hearts and Celtic will now be at Murrayfield with a 1.30pm start while his side’s tie at the National Stadium will kick off at 4.30pm. A relieved McInnes said: “The club and Hearts have been working extremely hard in the background to try to get a better solution, certainly for our own supporters. “You’re never going to satisfy everybody. It’s difficult but I do think the fact we’ve got two separate venues rather than trying to squeeze it in at one on the same day, everybody feels a bit more comfortable with that.
“From a public safety perspective and the difficulty of our supporters getting there, the later kick-off is far more of a benefit to us in trying to get as many fans there as possible, which was always our biggest concern. I think we’ve got to the right solution.
“Who played where and what game was where was always up for debate. We’d have played anywhere whether in Edinburgh or Glasgow.
“From a football point of view
HAMPDEN RIVAL Gerrard
we weren’t really bothering about where our game was.
“But from a club point of view, and our supporters’ point of view, it was important we tried to get a later kick-off.
“It all felt a bit rushed to me last week. Maybe the authorities underestimated the public opinion as well as the journalists’ comments and the way everything was built.
“They maybe underestimated the supporter in all of this.”
But the Pittodrie gaffer reckons Scottish football has been sidetracked by recent controversies and has called for the positive aspects of our game to take the spotlight.
McInnes said: “There is so much good about the game at the minute. It’s in such a healthy state.
“There are a lot of good players, good managers and greater focus as well as having two clubs still in Europe.
“We’ve been bogged down too much this season already with refereeing, compliance officers, appeals and the semi-final issues. And before those ties come round I hope we can draw a line under it and look forward to them.
“I just feel sometimes we maybe talk too much about other stuff and hopefully we can concentrate on promoting the game more.”