Lewis driven by envy of previous cup win

Aberdeen skipper Joe Lewis admits he is jealous of his predecessors who have lifted silverware for the Dons.

Russell Anderson was the last Aberdeen captain to hold a trophy aloft when he collected the League Cup in 2014 in Derek McInnes’s first season in charge.

Lewis joined the Dons two years later and has played at Hampden Park eight times – but has suffered three final defeats against Celtic.

Aberdeen can secure a return to Mount Florida if they beat St Mirren in the William Hill Scottish Cup quarterfinals tonight and Lewis has plenty of motivation ahead of the Paisley tie.

“There’s lads in the changing room who have won the League Cup only a few years ago, and certainly myself and the other lads that have joined more recently than that want to be part of a team that’s won a trophy at this football club,” the 32-year-old said.

“I’m envious of the photos and the celebrations of winning a trophy and I would love to get my hands on a trophy and lifting that with the team beside me.

“It is a massive game for us. It’s a great opportunity to get silverware.

“The league and the League Cup have come and gone for us and this is the last opportunity for us to win silverware this season.

“It’s something Aberdeen Football Club should be doing, we should be winning trophies.

“It’s something that I have had a strong desire to do since I have been at the club. Saturday is the next step towards achieving that.

“We have got the opportunity to get into the semi-final and we will go down there with that hunger and determination to do that.”

St Mirren did Aberdeen a favour on Tuesday by beating Motherwell, who could have gone four points clear of fourth-placed Dons in the Premiership table.

But the Buddies’ follow-up to their Fir Park cup win seven days earlier also gave them a lift ahead of tonight’s encounter.

Lewis said: “They will be confident on the back of an excellent result on

Tuesday night. It’s a difficult place to go against a very good team in Motherwell.

“When we have played them, they have been a real tough, determined lot and we expect nothing different.

“We need a performance that will get us through that.”

Meanwhile Buddies defender Conor McCarthy will be able to draw upon a healthy cup pedigree from back home in Ireland as he prepares to face the Dons tonight.

The 21-year-old centre-back enjoyed more than his fair share of cup success with Cork City before he moved to the Premiership outfit in January.

Ahead of the last-eight showdown with the Dons in Paisley, the Irishman was asked about his record.

He said: “After I joined Cork I was in four (FAI) cup finals and we won two, so the cup record in Ireland has been pretty decent to be fair.

“Jamie McGrath, who played for Dundalk, and I were talking about cup runs for us; we were probably the top two teams in Ireland so it was Cork and Dundalk every year.

“So I don’t think it will be anything new to us.

“Don’t get me wrong, it is going to be a very tough game at the weekend.

“We know the quality that Aberdeen have, they showed their quality at our place a couple of weeks back.

“But being only one game from Hampden is more than enough incentive for us to really put in a big performance.

“The cup can be a massive part of the season for the fans and we are all really looking forward to it.”

The Dons will be missing Ryan Hedges after the midfielder suffered a thigh strain in training. But Craig Bryson and Funso Ojo are back to bolster the Dons midfield.

Full-back Greg Leigh and winger Scott Wright remain on the sidelines.

Ryan Flynn, Kyle Magennis (both knee) and Gary MacKenzie (hamstring) remain out for the Buddies.

Stephen McGinn is back in training after his knee injury but the game comes too soon.

Joe Lewis would love to get his hands on the Scottish Cup trophy.