Dons boss hopes maturity tells

Derek McInnes started his career with Morton but insists he will have no split loyalties as he looks to land his second trophy as Aberdeen boss in the space of three seasons.

He said: “Morton is a club close to my heart and that will always be there but my job is to get Aberdeen to a cup final and hopefully win it.

“I think the players have done well to put themselves in this position. It’s our third League Cup semi in four years.

“We’ve won one and lost one but we don’t need any reminding how vast the difference between those two results is.

“Hopefully the maturity my team has had of the big games we’ve been involved in over the past few seasons helps.

“It doesn’t give us any guarantee that we’ll win the game but I always think in a semi-final it’s about handling the expectation and making sure we’re confident enough.

“I want my team to be the one that everyone looks at after the game and says they are the team who wanted it more, they worked the hardest, they ran the hardest, they won more challenges.

“If we can do that then hopefully we can win the game.”

McInnes is not fooled by Ton’s mid-table slot in the Ladbrokes Championship and expects a tough time in Glasgow.

“We’ve done our homework on them,” he said. “They’ve beaten some good teams in their own division. They’ve beaten Dundee United, they beat Kilmarnock in the League Cup earlier on.

“To beat a Queen of the South side who were at the top of the league when away from home last week also suggests that there is work to be done here to get through.

“This is no formality but we would never treat it like that anyway.

“Both sides are in good form so it has all the makings of a good tie.”

Derek McInnes: expects a tough game from the Championship side.