McInnes turns focus to silverware

better team over the two legs and that defeat was no disgrace. And he told his players that the best way to get over their disappointment was to ensure the Granite City has a cup success to celebrate during this campaign. ‘For all we are disappointed there’s still pride and satisfaction,’ said McInnes. ‘The fact that 20,000 fans applauded us off at the end was recognition of our efforts. We did lack a bit of quality in the final third but a lot of our play was top class. ‘Hopefully at the end of this season I will be standing with a trophy in my hand and someone will be telling me that going out of Europe tonight was the best thing to happen to us. ‘But until that happens it’s going to be a real disappointment. I thought we were the better team and I thought we would get through this tie. ‘Almaty are a good team and losing is no disgrace. I feel we have an improving team who can look forward to the season with real optimism.’ Defender Ash Taylor, meanwhile, refused to condemn Almaty for feigning injury to run the clock down. The frustrated Dons player pushed one opponent, sparking a shoving match in the Almaty box during five minutes of injury time but admitted he would want his team-mates to be similarly ruthless if defending a lead. ‘If the boot was on the other foot we would have probably done the same,’ he said. ‘It’s frustrating when that happens because you want to get the game going. ‘I was trying to get one of their players off the pitch because there was nothing wrong with him. He was just going down to waste time. I just tried to drag him off the pitch so we could get going but it all kicked off. ‘Overall, it’s a sore one to take, considering how we played tonight. ‘If we had got the first goal it could have been a different game. We threw everything at them. We are that kind of team that doesn’t give up. We could not get that second goal. ‘I think we were a better team than them over the two legs. We just lacked that little bit of quality in the final third, we weren’t clinical enough. ‘There’s a lot to take from our performances in the competition but it’s a shame we didn’t get any further. Now we’ve got to focus on Kilmarnock on Sunday and the league season ahead.’