The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
SCOTTISH CUP
ROUTE TO FINAL
He has passed the 20-goal threshold for the third season in a row, but Aberdeen attacker Adam Rooney craves more than personal accolades. He wants a Scottish Cup winners’ medal. The Dons forward hit the landmark goal in his side’s 2-1 win at Hearts on May 7, becoming the first Don since Joe Harper – who did it from 1976 to 1979 – to manage the feat. Records alone are not enough to quench Rooney’s desire for success and the former Caley Thistle man said: “We all want to win things, win trophies. That’s why the Scottish Cup final is so important and we have that extra motivation from the League Cup defeat. “This year, and the years to come, me, the manager and all the players want to lift trophies because those are the most important thing, more than setting records. “As a player I want to be in the position to win trophies. “Everyone was disappointed with the way the League Cup final went, we always said we wanted to use that as a motivation to make sure we got back to Hampden. “It is not always easy, but we have got there and given ourselves another chance to win a trophy.”
The Dons shored up second place with a week of the campaign to spare but there has been no taking the foot off the
“As a player I want to be in the position to win trophies”
pedal at Pittodrie, with manager Derek McInnes demanding his side goes into Saturday’s final in form.
Rooney, who scored the opening goal in the 3-2 win against Hibernian in the semi-final, said: “Even though we had second place cemented early on everyone has been chasing a place in the team for the final and that ensured we had a lot to play for in the rest of the league games. We want to finish as high up the league as we can so the more points we put on the board the better. But the focus is on the final now. We have got there and given ourselves another chance to win a trophy.”
The gulf between the Dons and Celtic in the Premiership has been substantial but Rooney believes the Dons can close the gap again.
He said: “It is unusual because we have performed so well in the last few months with the run we’ve been on. In seasons gone by, we may have been a couple of points off top or even at the top.
“A couple of years ago we had a great season and it was a lot closer – but it just highlights how well Celtic have done this season. The good thing is the cup final is a one-off game and anything can happen.
“We believe we can win and we’re going there looking to bring the cup back to Aberdeen.”
MR GOALS ADAM ROONEY