McINNES ON A MISSION TO LAND SILVERWARE
SAYS DEREK McINNES
HAVING vastly improved the fortunes of Aberdeen, both on and off the pitch, since his arrival in 2013, Derek McInnes would be entitled to reflect on a job well done. But a great job? No, not yet.
The Dons have secured permission to build a new stadium and training ground during his reign, and player sales have helped the club become debt-free, but these are not the battles by which McInnes will ultimately be judged.
The Pittodrie boss knows this. If Aberdeen are to progress as a club, then off-field matters only count for so much.
What supporters yearn for more than anything else is silverware and, in that respect, the trophy cabinet at Pittodrie could do with a little TLC before they pack up for the new stadium at Kingsford.
Namely, some new additions. One trophy — the 2014 League Cup, which came via a penalty shoot-out victory over Inverness Caley Thistle in what was arguably the worst final in living memory — leaves an underwhelming taste in the mouths of Dons fans as the years begin to tick on.
Still chasing a first triumph since 1990 in the premier domestic cup competition, McInnes will take his team to face Motherwell tomorrow at Hampden, a venue with which they have become familiar under his guidance.
Yet, it would be foolish to take their trips to Mount Florida for granted, given that this is a club who finished ninth and flirted with relegation in each of the three seasons prior to McInnes taking charge.
Even so, McInnes is adamant that the undoubted progress the club have made must ultimately be married to a greater haul of silverware.
‘I think what we’ve done in the last few years has been a lot of good work from everybody on and off the park,’ said the Aberdeen manager.
‘There’s been a lot of good energy, we are now debt-free after coming in when we were so many millions in debt and didn’t have a team of value on the pitch.
‘We are now knocking back offers of over £1million for Scott McKenna and we had seven players away on international duty last month.
‘We now have that team of value on the park, the club is busy and there is a lot to do.
‘We have a training ground and a new stadium to look forward to and that is all positive — but, ultimately, you want trophies to show for that.
‘That is what supporters want as I’m sure they will be grateful for a new stadium and pleased that we are getting a new stadium, but it’s not the most important thing to them.
‘It’s not the most important thing to me or the players, either, it’s actually winning trophies.
‘We have won one, but we have lost two finals and lost a couple of semi-finals, as well, but at least we are putting ourselves in position to win things.
‘Some good teams have beaten us but, hopefully, we can get back to another final and go on to win it this time.’
Aberdeen took an early lead against Celtic in last season’s final and played with an aggression that unsettled their opponents, before losing 2-1 thanks to a Tom Rogic goal in stoppage time.
‘Of course, it was painful,’ admitted McInnes. ‘But being part of occasions like that just whets your appetite to go back again and win it next time.’
Aberdeen’s chances of doing so have been hamstrung by the fact that midfield duo Kenny McLean and Graeme Shinnie, and right-back Shay Logan, will all miss the match through suspension.
They are also coming up against a Motherwell side who thumped them 3-0 in the quarter-final of the Betfred Cup back in September.
But McInnes insisted: ‘That particular match won’t feature in my team talk. We made mistakes that night and were punished by a rampant Motherwell side who sniffed blood.
‘But we’ve played them three times since then and the most recent game (2-0 win) is the one I’d make most reference to.’
Should Aberdeen go on to lift the Scottish Cup at the end of the season, McInnes would not necessarily see it as vindication of his decision to reject approaches from Sunderland and Rangers last year.
‘No, it’s not like that,’ argued the 46-year-old. ‘I have to be comfortable with my own decisions and I have nothing to get hung up on.
‘You live and die with your decisions and I believe that, while the chairman is here and I am here, we can be good enough to be competitive.
‘There is still a fine line between winning trophies and putting yourself up there, but sometimes you need luck on the day to get through cup ties.
‘I would love nothing more than to shake my players’ hands and give them a medal, but I don’t have the power to do it.
‘We have all got to go and earn our medals and money has never been the most important thing.
‘I’ve been involved in enough semi-finals but I can only think of one that was a really good game and that’s when we beat St Johnstone 4-0 at Tynecastle.
‘But I have been involved in a lot of these games as a player and a manager where they have been awful games with too many players fearful of making costly mistakes. ‘It’s just all about winning them really and, hopefully, that’s what we will do on Saturday.’ New stadiums and training grounds are all well and good, but they don’t come with a medal. Football, as McInnes knows, is all about winning.