Derek McInnes, Barry Robson, Ryan Jack on RedTV

Derek McInnes Quotes |

“It is nice to be sitting second in the league but I stress the point – it is only the end of October, start of November and we are only 11 games in. We have made a solid start to the league campaign but we will all be judged come the end of the season.

“We will prepare for the game on Wednesday as we would any other game. We will try and pick the right team for the game. We won’t let outside pressures and comments influence us whether they are positive or negative. We will just get our heads down and get on with the job.

“We will just keep working hard and see where it takes us.

“The quarter final against Motherwell on Wednesday is a game we are looking forward to and an equal opportunity for both teams to get into a semi final.

“Every manager doing their press conference ahead of the games will be saying the same thing; they will want it to be their year. Of course with Celtic being out of the competition it may seem more doable for most teams but again you can never look too far ahead. From our point of view our preparation is just to concentrate on winning a game; play the game and not the situation. The game is big enough as it is.

“Anytime you go and play Motherwell you expect a tough match and I am sure that is what we will get.

“You are always learning about your team whether you are winning games or losing games. What I am looking for is a level of performance that gives us an opportunity to win a match. What we had on Saturday was a level of performance individually where everyone played a part. We are looking for that every week and hopefully that will lead to a good team performance.

“The word concistency is what we are striving for. We have shown this season a level of performance that shows what we are capable of. You have to try and prove that over the course of a campaign and over the course of a cup run. Out with Celtic, Motherwell are the side above everyone else who have shown that level of consistency. It will be a very tough game.

“We had a good win down there earlier in the season after a very strong performance by us. It will need a similarly strong performance on Wednesday to give ourselves a chance of getting through into the semi-finals. I was at their game on Sunday and do not read too much into that result. I am sure they will want to make amends for yesterday.

“Team news is that we are as we were for Saturday, everyone is fit apart from Josh and Craig Murray. Chris Clark will not be in the squad but is training well.”

RedTV | to watch the managers conference in full please click here

RedTV | Barry Robson media conference please click here

RedTV | Ryan Jack media conference please click here