MCINNES HOME HELP FOR DONS’ GLORY BID
ABERDEEN BOSS PRAISED FOR RETHINK AHEAD OF SCOTTISH CUP FINAL DATE WITH CELTIC
Keeper Joe Lewis hopes the benefits of home comforts will see Aberdeen win the William Hill Scottish Cup tomorrow – in what could be boss Derek McInnes’s last match in charge.
McInnes – the favourite to become the next manager of Sunderland – took his team to St Andrews ahead of November’s unsuccessful Betfred League Cup final showdown with Celtic.
This time, however, the Pittodrie men have stayed in the Granite City to prepare for tomorrow’s sixth and final battle with the rampant, domestically unbeaten Hoops.
The Reds have lost all five meetings so far, but Lewis reckons McInnes was right to reject a change of scenery and keep the build-up lowkey as Aberdeen chase their first Scottish Cup win in 27 years.
Lewis said: “We all appreciate it’s a big occasion, but staying at home and trying to treat it like any other game can be seen as a positive.
“No-one needs to tell us it’s a big game, we all know it. Everyone has family coming along and it’s a sell-out.
“We’re all aware of what is at stake and hopefully we’ll give a performance that reflects that.”
The Dons’ chances of landing the campaign’s first piece of silverware folded when they handed Brendan Rodgers’ free-flowing midfield the freedom of Hampden to pick their passes, and lost 3-0.
But having made history themselves this month by securing a first league win at Ibrox in a quarter of a century, Lewis believes his side have proved they have developed a nerve for the big occasion. “Everyone can’t wait to get there,” he said.
“The last time the teams met earlier this month we lost 3-1, but we did play some good football and we will take some confidence from that.
“We will study all the games we have played against them previously. We are confident that we can carry a threat to them and get a positive result.
“We have had moments and spells where we caused them problems. We need to make sure we do not have any lapses in concentration. We need to be fully concentrated for 90-plus minutes.
“We gave them too much space and sat off them a bit too much at Hampden last time. We will certainly have a plan in place to combat that.
“But a lot has happened since then. It was a harsh lesson but we have moved on from that. We’ve learned from all the big games we’ve played this season. We will use those experiences.
“The result at Rangers was a big result. It showed that when we are in those big-game situations in front of a big crowd the team does have the bottle to produce big performances. Although Celtic are favourites, we still put pressure on ourselves to perform at a certain level, as we have done throughout the whole season.”
Aberdeen’s last Scottish Cup triumph in 1990 saw them beat Celtic 9-8 on penalties. “Hopefully we can do it in 90 minutes and not have to bother with penalties,” said Lewis. “If it does goes all the way, I won’t feel too much pressure. As a goalkeeper, you can enjoy them a little bit – obviously if you come out on the winning side you can be the hero.”