The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Considine: Do it for the boss
AFC: Veteran wants Reds to book Hampden last-four tie for McInnes
Aberdeen defender Andy Considine insists he and his team-mates owe manager Derek McInnes a Scottish Cup semi-final date at Hampden.
The Dons secured their place in the last eight of the competition in an astounding game at Kilmarnock on Wednesday, thanks to an injury-time winner in extra-time for a 4-3 victory at Rugby Park.
A game labelled as season-defining by many
– including Considine, pictured – went in Aberdeen’s favour and the defender, who scored an 88th-minute equaliser to take the tie to extra-time at 1-1, hopes the dramatic win has shown the players and manager are united at Pittodrie.
Considine said: “The manager has been brilliant. He has lifted this club back to where it should be: reaching finals and qualifying for Europe every year.
“He works tirelessly behind the scenes. The least we can do is get us back to Hampden. I’m sure it’s lifted a little bit of angst off his shoulders. It has for everyone.”
A frank discussion about the club’s five-game run without scoring has led to the Dons scoring eight goals in the last three matches and Considine believes the credit for the turnaround should go to his boss.
He said: “Before the Hamilton game we all sat down and he had a real go at us. We knew we hadn’t been playing well enough and something had to change. I felt that conversation has changed things for him and all of us.” A trip to St Mirren next Saturday, February 2 9 , i s the next hurdle facing the Dons as they bid to continue their run in the competition and Considine hopes the seesaw nature of Wednesday’s win at Killie is a sign Aberdeen can end their 30year wait to lift the Scottish Cup in May.
He said: “It’s a dream as a player to lift the cup. That’s why you play football. Fingers crossed this could be the year.”
For now all the focus is on tomorrow’s home match against Ross County. Aberdeen welcome the
Staggies to Pittodrie occupying third place on goal difference ahead of Motherwell and Considine is eager to pull away from the Steelmen.
He said: “I feel we should not be out of sight. We have made it hard for ourselves but I feel we are in the driving seat at the moment.
“If we can continue this form and ruthlessness in front of goal we will finish third and get a good run in the cup.
“So Saturday is massive. We need to get back to winning ways in the league. It’s going to be like a cup final.”
It was pulsating, dramatic, exciting, unpredictable and incredible. But what Derek McInnes really wants is for Aberdeen’s 4-3 Scottish Cup win at Kilmarnock to be a springboard for the rest of the season.
The Dons were heading out, then heading through, then heading out again in a topsy-turvy cup tie at Rugby Park before drawing level for the second time.
They still went on to score a remarkable winning goal in the final four minutes of extra-time on Wednesday to secure a quarter-final trip to St Mirren.
The win kept up Aberdeen’s recovery from a five-game run without a goal and with the four-goal salvo at Rugby Park making it eight in the last three matches for the Dons, the manager hopes the touch paper has been truly lit.
He said: “In the last few games performances have been better but it’s results that matter and the cup is so important for us as a club.
“Nobody knows that more than me, every year we put ourselves forward as a team that can win it.
“You can’t say that as a manager if I didn’t believe in my team – we are one of the few teams that believe from the start we can win it.
“Our supporters, our players, everyone at the club need a good cup run, not just for the feelgood factor, but the financial aspect is important.
“It can give your league campaign a shot of adrenaline if you’ve got quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals to look forward to.
“We managed to stay in the cup and my players deserve so much credit because we’ve taken a bit of a kicking at times this season. But hopefully the narrative is how resilient and how strong my team were as a whole unit to make sure they won the game.
“We’ve got a squad that is getting stronger and getting back to a level of performance that is more akin to the standards we’ve set in the last seven years.”
It was close to 3am yesterday when the weary but exhilarated Dons squad arrived back in Aberdeen, no doubt still full of adrenaline at having come through a game that will live long in the memory of all who saw it.
The legs will be heavy after 120 minutes of energy-sapping drama but with Ross County visiting Pittodrie tomorrow, the Aberdeen boss knows he will have to choose carefully when picking a team.
He said: “Mentally they’ll be fine to go again but physically there will be issues. Hopefully Funso Ojo will be back – we missed him in spells on Wednesday.
“Ash Taylor felt his calf again – I don’t think it’s too serious but it might be enough to keep him out. Thankfully we’ve got Mikey Devlin there and we’ve got good cover and decent options in certain areas.
“Ross County will be rubbing their hands having to travel to Aberdeen after the energy we put into Wednesday. There will be tired bodies but it would have been even worse if we’d gone out of the cup.”