As part of the Betfred Cup semi-final preview all four club captains spoke to the media today during events at Hampden and Pittodrie. On RedTV now you can watch Ryan Jack’s press conference in full by clicking here

“You start the season off the back of a pre-season (campaign) and you feel fit and strong. I felt like my own form was going well and the team were playing really well. So to get a setback like I did was very frustrating. All you can do is get your head right and concentrate all your energy on getting fit again. I am fortunate to have a lot of good people around me and they have helped. I am feeling strong again.

“If I kept playing and kept managing the injury from game to game as I was doing, I could have landed up making things a lot worse and could have been out of a long time. We have got a great medical team here. They sent me to the right people and got me the right advice. I can’t thank them enough.

“I have done all my rehab and fitness work and thankfully on Tuesday I was given the all clear by the specialist who said that I was ok to go into full contact. I am just delighted to be back training with the squad and very pleased to be travelling and we will just take it from there.

“It is always about the whole squad.

“It is not just about the 11 guys who go on the park. We are a squad and we are all together. At the start of the season we sat down and said that if we are to have a successful campaign then everyone is going to have to play a part. I accept the fact the team are on a great run and I am just back from injury. It might take a bit of time to get myself back into the starting XI.

“The squad has been getting stronger and stronger each year. You see the quality of what we have got and see the quality that we have on the bench. Everyone needs to work hard to get into the side and to stay in the side and that is what you want. We have a tight squad and everyone works hard for each other. We all love being around each other and we have a great team spirit.

“We are all looking forward to the game.

“A game at Hampden, at the national stadium. It is going to feel like a special occasion but it is important we don’t play the occasion. We must focus fully on the game.

“We are playing against a Morton side who have been doing really well. We know we are playing a team that is on a good run. They have a bit of confidence. They had a very good result last week. Even before that they had been doing well and have had some great results already in the competition. As soon as the draw was made the manager made it clear that it would not be an easy game and we know we will not have it all our own way.  

“It is a cup semi-final, a one-off game and they will be well up for it. We must match that. it is a big occasion for us as well as we want to get this club to a cup final.

“We are not guaranteed a result. We know we are going to have to work for it. That is what our focus is on. Focussing on putting in a performance that will get that final.

“The boys have been playing really well. We have found some consistency and a bit of momentum. That is important going into a game like this. We have trained hard this week and we are all looking forward to the game.

“You always get a little extra bounce when it is a cup game and especially a semi-final. With a cup final at stake the game does have a different feel to it but we have had a normal training schedule this week, we have not changed anything.

“It is tough for our fans with the early kick off and with the game being in Glasgow. It is tough for many of them to get there but it is fantastic to see that we have sold close to 11,000 tickets. The fans have backed us and we will be doing all we can on the pitch to make sure they have a good day.”