Sunday Mail (UK)

Hibs, Hearts and Gers are back at top but who’s in cup final?

DEREK McINNES’ BIG ASK

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Graeme MacPherson Derek McInnes insists his Aberdeen side are punching above their weight every single season, despite a lack of trophies since 2014.

The Dons looked to have the world at their feet when they picked up the League Cup four years ago.

Rangers hadn’t yet returned to the top flight, Hearts and Hibs were heading for the second tier and even Celtic were going from bad to Norse under Ronny Deila.

But within 18 months worried Hoops chief Dermot Desmond pulled the plug on Deila, brought in Brendan Rodgers and every trophy since has been bedecked in green and white ribbons.

McInnes knows defeat at Hampden again today would see the Dons cruelly dubbed big- game bottlers but he’s having none of it.

Aberdeen remain Celtic’s closest challenger­s, finishing second in the league for the last four seasons and now facing Celtic in a cup final for the third time in two years.

McInnes said: “We’ll look back on this time as a strong period for the club.

“I’m proud that Aberdeen, more than any team outwith Celtic in the last five years, have been in Europe every year, made seven semi-finals and four finals.

“Nobody else can touch that and I’m proud of that.

“We get to finals and put ourselves in a position to be competitiv­e. We were expected to get pushed aside a couple of years ago when everybody was back in the league.

“Before that we were told f inishing second and winning a cup didn’t count because Rangers weren’t really at it while Hibs and Hearts were struggling away.

“But we’re still there, still getting to finals, still finished second last year and these teams have been back up for a couple of seasons now.

“I’d like to look back in the future and think we did a lot of good work at Aberdeen and hopeful ly there are more trophies to show for it.

“I want this to not just be a strong era where a lot of good was done: becoming debt-free, moving to a new stadium and training ground eventually, and dragging the club into the modern era.

“We’ve done that. We’ve got a team of value on the pitch and had four players in the last Scotland squad, and one with Northern Ireland as well.

“We’ve dragged the club up

to a level where it hadn’t been operating for a long time.

“But to be remembered and recognised you probably have to win more trophies.”

McInnes is aware there is a growing desire among the fans for them to lift another trophy after they collected their last silverware by beating Caley Thistle on penalties.

He added: “When we won the League Cup it was the club’s first trophy for almost 20 years. The anticipati­on, desire and desperatio­n from our support, for us to finally win a trophy again, was clear.

“Now we’re four-and-a-half years on from that and I still feel that desperatio­n and demand to win.

“That’s what happens when you manage a club l ike Aberdeen. You need to accept that responsibi­lity.

“I’m proud that we’ve negotiated our way to another final. Every other manager wishes they were preparing their team for a cup f inal , and every other set of players and fans would love to be going into a final. It’s important we all remember that.”

McInnes is desperate for skipper Graeme Shinnie to lift silverware at the club.

He said: “There are images of Wi l l ie Miller, Russel l Anderson and Stewar t McKimmie all around the stadium with trophies.

“It ’ s impor tant Graeme has that image of lifting a trophy.”

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 ??  ?? RON DOWN Dons beat Deila’s Celts 2-1 in 2016
RON DOWN Dons beat Deila’s Celts 2-1 in 2016

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