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Dons skipper Graeme hungry for Cup glory
Graeme Shinnie holds bittersweet memories of his days out at Hampden.
It was the venue he skippered Inverness to the Scottish Cup in 2015 in his last game for the Highland club.
Shinnie has since suffered heartache at the National Stadium three times with Aberdeen, losing two finals to Celtic and a semi to Motherwell.
But he insists those misfortunes have only made the Dons even hungrier for success.
And he is excited to take on Steven Gerrard’s Rangers in the League Cup semis next weekend. Shinnie said: “Hampden is always a good day out and one we look forward to. It will be a massive occasion for the whole club and we are desperate to win.
“The squad has changed since we lost two cup finals to Celtic two seasons ago but we have the hunger to go one better.
“We don’t expect to be regulars at Hampden every season but it is something we strive to achieve.
“We’d love to get our hands on silverware this season but know it won’t be easy.”
Rangers will be without their prolific strikeforce – Alfredo Morelos will be suspended while Kyle Lafferty is cup-tied due from his involvement with Hearts.
Dons skipper Shinnie is grateful for any advantage but isn’t about to declare Derek McInnes’ men as favourites to make the final.
He said: “Rangers are doing well this season and with those boys missing it probably gives us a better chance.
“But they have strength and depth in their squad so I wouldn’t say we were favourites. “Anything can happen in the semi-finals. I’ve been involved in many weird cup games over the years.
“It is important we turn up on the day and make a real game of it and you never know what can happen.
“It will be a good day for Scottish football and I love the build-up to these types of games.”
The semi- f inals were marred in controversy as both ties were pencilled in for Hampden on the same day.
Following a climb-down by the SPFL, the other semi-final – Hearts v Celtic – will be played at Murrayfield before the Aberdeen v Rangers clash.
Shinnie said: “We just have to forget the Hearts and Celtic game and focus on ourselves.
“We can’t influence what happens in the other match. The way this season has gone so far, we have to just worry about what we can do and try to build some momentum.”