McInnes wary of cup rivals’ threat

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says there can be no mistakes when the Dons host Stranraer in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.

McInnes wants his players to build on the momentum of the weeklong training trip to Dubai which culminated in a 2-1 win against Uzbeks Bunyodkor on Sunday.

After reaching the League Cup final only to be well beaten by Celtic, McInnes is again targeting a tilt for silverware but knows it will be far from easy against a side scrapping for its League One status.

Stranraer have lost four of their last five matches, including a 1-0 defeat at Stenhousemuir on Saturday, a result which pushed them to the bottom of the table and McInnes is wary of an upset.

He said: “Going three weeks during the winter break was just too long, especially going into the cup tie against Stranraer, and we have to make sure we are ready for that one.

“We are going to be up against opposition who have been playing every week, so we needed the match on Sunday.

“They were a decent side and it was important we had the players making decisions during the game.

“We just can’t replicate that in training and we did well with no injuries.

“I was wondering if we had done the right thing by arranging the match in Dubai but it gave us something to focus on throughout the week and to work towards.

“The bigger risk was not having the match for sharpness. Bunyodkor were playing their fourth game in the last 10 or 11 days, so they gave us decent opposition.

“We got what we wanted with no injuries. The win was a bonus but not the most important thing.”

The squad flew back to Glasgow yesterday and have today off.

Derek McInnes: feels break was too long.