“I am very pleased with the win. Especially pleased as we came from behind to get the win.

“I thought we started the game really well. I was delighted with way we imposed ourselves on the game and how aggressive we were. We dominated possession in the early part. The first time they had the ball in the box they score. It was a poor goal from our point of view.

“We then had a lot of work to do.

“I thought the response from the players was excellent. Jonny moved in a little bit on the far side and he was able to find some space. Kenny’s free kick was real quality and then we get the penalty kick from Jonny’s positive play. At half time I reminded the players we were up against a team who are highly competitive, have players who can hurt you. It was important not to give them any encouragement and I thought we did that in the second half. It was never over until Kenny got his third goal so we had to keep working hard.

“We have beaten a team today who are in good form. There is no doubt we deserved to win and I am delighted to have scored three goals. Delighted with the response from the players and it puts us in a good frame of mind going into next week.

“Football is not about just going out and playing pretty football. You need to get the work done. We had to make sure we stopped a good Inverness team from playing. We had to deal with their threat from set plays which we did. We also have a very good goalkeeper who helps elevate the pressure by taking up a good starting position. He is very aggressive coming for crosses.

“Inverness have a physicality but they can also play. They ask questions of your organisation. So we had jobs to do today and I thought we did them very well.

“I am disappointed with the Maddison booking. I have watched it again and there is contact. It was a free kick and not a penalty. We may appeal it.

“I am delighted to have come through the game unscathed. Wes Burns missed the game today as he rolled his ankle in training yesterday but he will be ok for next week. We will have a full squad to choose from and I have to be pleased with that. I am also very pleased with the form of particular players. We also have good competition for places.

“We had two very tough away games going into the final and have had two good wins. It was good to get maximum points.

“Today’s game deserved our full attention. If it is not there then Inverness beat us. You could see from the first minute how much our players wanted to win the game. There was no pulling out of tackles.

“Celtic have proved a tough nut to crack for everyone this year. Ourselves included. So no one outside Pittodrie will be expecting anything other than a Celtic victory. I am confident I have the players that can maybe take that opportunity to bring a trophy to the club. It is great to have that opportunity and a club like Aberdeen should be in cup finals competing for silverware.

“I have a job to do to pick the right team. I need to get the balance right between defending and attacking but we will go there intending to win the cup. We will only enjoy the day if we do that.”

“I have a job to do to pick the right team. I need to get the balance right between defending and attacking but we will go there intending to win the cup. We will only enjoy the day if we do that.”