Kenny McLean scored two goals this afternoon, the first time he has done that for the Dons. It was another excellent performance from the midfield who is on a great run of form. After the game he spoke to RedTV:

“My first double for the club, a good feeling and hopefully not the last. It was good to get back on the scoresheet as it has been a few weeks since I scored. It is something I want to add more to my game.

“My two goals were nice but it was all about getting three points today. The result was very important as we have a massive week coming up. It was what we needed. It was the performance we needed. We battled well and showed a bit of everything today.

“The last couple of weeks have been very good. The performance at Partick, and now a great performance up here. It was slightly different the way game went but we showed how good we are.

“For the free-kick James said it was in slightly a better position for me than the one ten minutes before. It was in exactly the same position! I just really fancied it. James and I have been spending time in training working on free kicks. We did a bit yesterday, and I hammered him! So, it was only right I took the ball! No seriously we know how good James is from those situations. He had one in the second half that was very close.

“It is something we are working hard at. I don’t think we did enough from free-kicks last season around the box. We have identified it as an area we could improve on. It is nice when all the hard work on the training field pays off. It something we need to keep doing.

“For the second goal, surely Jonny slowed up, there is no way I could have over taken him otherwise! I went round the outside of him and I realised quickly I was not getting there so I had to cut my run a bit. I think he got fouled and the ball fell kindly for me.

“It was a great feeling seeing the ball hit the back of the net as it gave us the cushion we needed. It a feeling of relief as well because Inverness made us work very hard. They came at us but I thought we defended excellently today.

“We had chances in the second half so it was nice when the third goal went in. it was the icing on the cake of a very good performance.

“The competition for places is very strong. It forces everyone to play well when you are in the side. Next week we have 19 or 20 guys all wanting to be in that starting XI.  Confidence is high and we are taking some momentum into the final.

“A lot of people thought we would come here with one eye on next Sunday. I will be honest, it was tough not to do that because it is such a big game, but the fact we didn’t shows the character of the boys and their mental strength. Also, when you come out of the tunnel and see a couple of thousand Aberdeen fans, you then do not need any more motivation than that. At this time of year, in freezing conditions, it’s hard for them so they deserved a performance from us.

“Now we can all focus on the final, the fans and players.”

“Now we can all focus on the final, the fans and players.”