Chris Cadden was the player that met with the media on Thursday to preview Sunday's game against St Johnstone.

RedTV subscribers can watch his press conference now.

The break

“It’s been hard work, and the gaffer sort of made sure we knew that going in, it wasn’t a break. We got a lot done on the training pitch. So, I think it’s been beneficial for us.

“Maybe it might have been different if we hadn’t had as good a week, but we had a good week, which was positive. I think that was a big thing. I think we knew that as players because it was a long break, and he didn’t really want to go into that on a bad week.

“It was good to finish that week, and it does make the break feel a lot better around the place."

Expectation

“I think that comes with being at a big club (Kilmarnock quarter-final). It didn’t surprise me. You do feel pressure, that’s part of it, but it’s how you deal with that. If you don’t thrive in that, if you don’t want that, then there’s probably no point in being here. You need to be able to play under that sort of stress.

“You could say there was pressure going into that week, but we just sort of cracked on and we knew that there’s a journey that we were going to go on. It’s going to take time, and I felt like we showed a lot of good things as well that week. It was a real positive week. There are still things to improve on. We know that ourselves, but it was a real positive week, which we’re happy with."

One game at a time

“I think it’s important for us as players as well that you don’t want to look beyond Sunday. For me, that’s where this week’s build-up has been. The gaffer’s made that clear, we’ve got a tough game against St Johnstone.

“This league, I’ve been in it long enough now that I know there’s no easy games. St Johnstone will fancy themselves as well, so we know that. We need to be at the top of our game to go and beat them. After that, we can start looking ahead.

“Sunday’s a big one for us. At Aberdeen, every game seems like a big game, which is what we want as players. That’s why you work so hard to get to a club like this, to play in big games. So we’re excited and looking forward to it."

Backing us home and away

“Being such a big club, the fanbase that we’ve got and the backing we’ve got is a real advantage, both home and away. The away fans have been unbelievable since I’ve been here, and at home as well, they’ve really come out in numbers wherever we go.

“It’s been brilliant. It’s a real advantage we’ve got at Aberdeen, and it’s one that we obviously want to use as well.

“As players, we want to make Pittodrie a hard place to come. We want to make it a real fortress. I think if we do that, then that sort of leads into a successful season. So that’s our plan.

“I’d say we’re on a journey; we’re on a process here, and we understand that it’s going to take time. There’s been a lot of change at the club, but winning games helps."

Quality in the squad

“It was a real positive week, but we know that there’s still a lot to come from us. There’s still a lot to improve on. I mean, every day, and I know you guys don’t see it, but every day in training, especially over the last two weeks, the standard’s been brilliant. People are coming back from injury. The standard of play is really, really good.

“We know the capabilities we’ve got in this dressing room. So yeah, we know the level’s there and that we can go and produce really good performances and good results as well. So that’s what we’re working towards."

St Johnstone soon

“As I said before, you want to win your home games. You want to make Pittodrie a hard place to come. Historically, ever since I’ve been here, it’s been a hard place to come, and that’s what you want.

“You want people to come away and know they haven’t had an easy game. The intensity, the team, and the quality we’ve got as well, you can see that in training.

“So that’s what you want to bring and make it a really tough place to come, St Johnstone will come on Sunday knowing that they’ll be in a game.”