Derek McInnes

“The better team won.

“The first goal comes out of nothing. We should be dealing with it far better, from the first ball up. It is a mistake from big Joe which we are not going to criticise too much because he has been outstanding since he has been with us. I said last week that he has been flawless. He could have done better with one or two of the goals but the intent and aggression from the Motherwell team was far better than ours to be honest.

“We knew what to expect.

“They engage with their strikers. If they don’t win the first ball they are quick to support the second one. They get the ball wide, they get crosses into the box. A lot of their game is very simplistic but it got the job done.

“My players want to win but the team with the greater intent and aggression to their play won tonight. They maybe got a bit of fortune with the first goal but other than that they were the better team and thoroughly deserved to get through.

“I thought in general, between both boxes at times we did some decent things. In the second half we were better. We had a couple of chances in the first half but I thought they defended better throughout. As I say their intent and aggression was better than ours and sometimes that can make all the difference.

“It was a sore one for us.

“We look for that response in the league game on Sunday.

“I don’t think it was a lack of effort and I thought we looked as fit as them. I know my boys. They work hard and they are hurting tonight and they should be hurting. It is the Quarter Final of a cup.

“It is our first defeat of the season and defeats come in many different ways.

“You can be outplayed and you can be outfought. I thought at times, even though we knew what to expect and we knew what we were facing, we did not deal with it.

“Motherwell are good at what they do. I think Motherwell will do very well this season and they had the best player on the park. Moult is on the move all the time, he spooks defenders, his work rate and aggression sets the tone for the team. They are not a one-man team, of course they are not, but he is such a big player for them. He gets the first goal and in the final minutes is still running hard to get his second goal. He was the best player on the park but a long way today.

“A lot of our players huffed and puffed and they were trying, there was no lack of effort or will but for me we needed to a bit more aggression and intent to our play.

“3-0 was maybe a bit harsh but there is no doubt we deserved to lose the game.

“We dust ourselves down and move on to Sunday. We are still unbeaten in the league and we want to get back to winning ways. We don’t normally lose games, not in that manner.

“We are disappointed because our support came down in big numbers. We work for a club who are demanding and expect better. I expect better. The players expect better. Hopefully the response is exactly that and we can get back to winning ways on Sunday.

“We know we are better than what we showed tonight.

“It is a missed opportunity. It is a sore one. It is a belt in the mouth. But we move on. Hopefully over the course of a season we keep these to a minimum.

“It is all about getting ready for the next one. We know we are a good team but we have to show that we are better than we were tonight.

“It is back to league business. I have known many of the players for a long time. I know how much they will be hurting. No one will sleep tonight. it will be a rotten day tomorrow. It will be a rotten day on Saturday. The only way we can start to feel better about ourselves is by winning the next game. And so be it that it is back at Motherwell.

“We tried to make the players aware of what type of game it was going to be. We have to make sure we are better than what we showed tonight.”

“We tried to make the players aware of what type of game it was going to be. We have to make sure we are better than what we showed tonight.”