David Goodwillie
“It is a cup tie and anything could happen. We are in good form but it counts for nothing on Saturday. There are two good sides competing but hopefully we can come out on top. We know if we can stay focussed we can get to the final. Tactically we have to be spot on.

“Having such a big support is fantastic. It gives us a lot of confidence but it is important we just go out there and concentrate on our own job and not get distracted with what is going on round about us. That is where the manager comes in. He is very good at making sure we stay focused on our football.

“Having my future sorted is an advantage going into games like this. I am feeling confident, I know the boys have confidence in me and that should help me deliver on the pitch. A lot of the boys speak about what happened last season. It just makes all the new boys like me want to be part of a successful team.

“Preparing for a game like this the manager makes it easy for us. He has not put any pressure on us. We know it will be different as we get closer to 3.00pm on Saturday but he is very good at making sure we are fully prepared and ready to go before every game. In these big games he is very good at getting us mentally prepared.

“I will be quite happy if it is a boring game but we win! We don’t really want a crazy game that is heart attack material! But with cup football you never know what to expect. I think the first goal will be crucial. If you look at a lot of our games, if we score first we win. It is the same for United.

“At Hampden, in club football I have a 100% record at the national stadium so hopefully that continues at the weekend!

“Personally it would be a wonderful feeling to get to a final and I will do everything I can for my team to help them do that.”

Jonny Hayes
“Like last year we have had to wait a while for the semi-final to come around but we have been so busy and had so many games that it has actually come around quicker than expected. It still hasn’t really kicked in that we have a semi-final on Saturday. So for us it has been a very normal week although I know outside the club the pre match hype is building. For the players we try and prepare as normally as we can, do our normal routine. The manager is very good at directing our focus on each game; he did that particularly well last year.

“After winning the cup last year it has meant the preparations for this game are a lot more relaxed. Winning it last year was a monkey off the back for the club. Last year’s semi-final, it was hard not to notice what was going on outside the club.

“We are in no doubt as to how tough a match this is going to be. They have some fantastic players. They have some very good attacking, however so do we. You can see the two teams are quite evenly matched and have been for the last 18-24 months. This season, they beat us, we beat them. I'm sure they'll be fired up as much as we are.

“It would be good to get the first goal but getting that goal won’t be easy.

“Dundee United are renowned for their attacking play and if we can keep their front players quiet we'll give ourselves a great chance to win the game. We are confident that if we can keep it tight at the back then David, Adam or Niall will manage to grab us a goal.

“It's our League Cup crown and we want to defend it as well as we can and if we retain it, it would be a massive step forward for the club. It's not a case of 'we won a final, now we can relax' the manager is the same, he's the hungriest of everyone here.

“Everybody just wants to get more and more medals, more success. It's the best feeling in the world. It's a feeling that you can't buy.

“A club of this stature should be where we are now, reaching semi-finals and challenging at the higher end of the league.”

Shay Logan
“I made my debut in this game last season. It was a very good way to make my debut! Playing in such a big game straight away meant I felt part of the team straight away. The fans also got right behind me and the game could not have been better. We then went on and had a very good season so hopefully the same will happen this year.

“I have never played at Hampden before. I look forward to it. It will only be a special place if we get the win though and get to the final. It has been a good season so far but you want to win trophies. Hopefully we can put ourselves in the position where we can do that. The league cup last season was the first trophy I have won in my career and it was a very good feeling. We have the team to get to more cup finals, I feel the team is stronger this season that it was last season, but we have to earn the right to be there.”

Andrew Considine
“Playing against a Dundee United side who are in form, it is going to be a very difficult game. But I feel now we have the boys in the dressing room who can handle these occasions. A lot has changed.
“It is different now as to the way we feel about these big games. Going over to play Real Sociedad is a real test of nerves and character.

“We had the joy of the League Cup final against St Johnstone but we also had the disappointment of the Scottish Cup semi-final. It is fresher in the memory and we want to put things right for disappointment of that day. It will be in the backs of our mind as we do not want to have that feeling again.

“I think the semi-final should be played at a neutral ground and then it should be a privilege to get to Hampden for a final. However I can understand why they are playing both semi-final’s there and it also means we can take a massive support with us. We are all very much looking forward to it.”

Mark Reynolds
“We can take a lot of confidence from the fact we have won a trophy. We know what it takes to get to a cup final and to lift silverware. The more you experience the big occasions, the better you are at coping with them. Over the past couple of years, we have had a lot of big games and we have managed to get the right result many times.

“The young players in the squad are a year older and a year wiser. That experience is very important. All the players in the squad are feeling the benefits of being a year further down the line in terms of working with the manager and each other. We feel we are in a stronger position than we were last year.

“I said last year when we won the cup we wanted to put ourselves in this kind of position again. We did not just want last year to be a one off. We want to win more cups. People keep talking about last year being the start of something special and we all believe it can be, but that will only be the case if we win more trophies and get more success. We walk up and down the corridors at Pittodrie and see the pictures of previous cup wins and we want to be one of those teams who will be remembered in the future.

“As a player going into a big game the hardest part is up until the whistle for kick off. There is the hype, the nerves, the expectations from the fans. Once the game starts you settle down and relax into the game.”

Cammy Smith
“The training this week has been very similar to any other week’s training. We had the game on Friday night. The manager told us to reflect on that game over the weekend and then to come in on Monday fully focussed on the week ahead.

“It is a game everyone wants to play in. If called upon I am desperate to play.

“We know there is a lot of expectation on us going into the game but it is good to have that expectation. We are a big club and we are expected to win games, especially big ones like this. As a player you should be able to deal with it. Wearing an Aberdeen shirt demands that.”

Niall McGinn
“You can see the excitement around the town ahead of the game. It is the same around the club as well. Everyone is very much looking forward to it. It is a big game and a very important one for the season. Hopefully we can go there and put in a good performance and get the right result.

“After winning the cup last year it does make you hungrier to go and win it again.”

Adam Rooney
“My record in the League Cup is not bad! I’ve scored in the majority of League Cup games I have played in and I was also fortunate enough to have scored the winning penalty in the final. That is something you can only dream about doing. Hopefully I can add to my tally on Saturday.

“People ask about my favourite goal so far in my career, and that’s easy, it has to be the penalty. I have scored a few important goals but nothing like that. I have watched it back a couple of times!

“I think Niall was maybe taking the spot kick after me, but I was standing on the halfway line and after the first couple of kicks, I quickly worked out that I would probably have the chance to win the cup with my penalty.

“I can’t remember taking it. I can’t remember the walk forward, I do remember thinking don’t kick it over the bar! I just remember focusing on where the ball was going. I blanked out the keeper. I could not tell you where the keeper dived, if he went left or right. I was just focused on hitting the ball.

“The job this year, and in the seasons ahead, is to make sure last year was not a once in a 20 year experience for our supporters. The one thing the win last year did was to give us the belief that we can go on and achieve good things for this football club. Saturday is another massive game for this team, but every game is a massive game at this club.

“Since I arrived a year ago, everything at Aberdeen has been very positive and the club is going in the right direction. Everyone throughout the club is very positive. We have had some fantastic results but we know we will have to work very hard and put in a very good performance this afternoon to get another positive result. We know it is going to be very difficult as Dundee United are a good side”.

Lawrence Shankland
“I played at Hampden when I was with Queens Park. It was obviously something I really enjoyed. It was a bit strange as it was quite empty in a lot of the games. I did play there against Rangers when there was 30,000. The pitch did feel quite spacious. When I played at Queens Park I played out wide and it did feel like there was a lot of space playing out there. It is a good place to play but at the end of the day it is just like any other pitch, with two goals at either end! I scored about 7 or 8 goals at Hampden when I was there.

“It is going to be a good game and a good occasion and I am looking forward to being part of it. I kind of missed out last year as I was on loan at Dunfermline.”

Peter Pawlett
“We are really looking forward to the game. There is a real buzz in the dressing room. It is a massive game at the National Stadium. There will be a fantastic atmosphere and occasion and hopefully we can rise to it.

“The last League Cup semi-final at Tynecastle was a very special day for the club. We want a similar outcome on Saturday. That game will give the boys the belief and the confidence to go on and do it again.

“Dundee United are a very good side. We know their strengths and we know their weaknesses but they know all about us as well. We have to try and stop them playing but at the same time put in a performance so we can be creative. It will be a very tough game and a tight encounter.

“Hopefully at Hampden I will get space to play and space to run. It will suit a lot of the boys in the team but it will suit a lot of their players as well.”

The winning numbers for 29/01/15