The two central defenders spoke to RedTV
Michael Devlin
“After the game the emotions were a mixture of relief to be honest and elation.
“I’m delighted to be in another final for this great club.
“It was a tough task and we had to defend a lot as a team, but I thought we were very resolute and determined and showed a real spirit to make sure we seen it through. I’m absolutely delighted to be in the final and you saw how much it meant to the fans at the end. It was a special moment.
“We all had to play our part, but it wasn’t just the back five if you like. I thought the boys at the top end of the pitch ran for their lives and couldn’t have given anymore. They closed down as much as they could. Then behind them Shinnie covers every blade of grass.
“It was a great team performance. In terms of the football side of things I think we can improve, but we showed different kinds of qualities to make sure we got into another final. As I say it’s a fantastic occasion for the club.
“Fergie’s just getting better and better with every game he plays. He takes on responsibility on the ball for such a young guy, he’s only 19. He looks like a man out there and handles the occasions so well, it doesn’t faze him. Going back to the Burnley games, he’s came straight into the team and made a real impression amongst the boys in the changing room and with the gaffer and that’s why he’s been trusted to go and play in these big games. It’s fantastic for him and the sky’s the limit and he’ll go from strength to strength.
“With McKenna you’ve just got to enjoy him while he’s playing because he’s special. There’s not many centre backs coming out of Scotland like Scott.
“A closeness off the pitch is helping and we live together as well. Just as friends – there’s no romance just a bit of bromance to be fair!! We get on well and we do pretty well on the pitch sometimes as well, so we work hard at our games Monday to Friday and the gaffer works with us as well. We know what’s expected of us come a Saturday. We’d like to have more game time as it’s been a bit stop start with injuries and suspensions so hopefully the more games we get the more opportunities we’ll get to grow as a partnership.
“As well as Scott there is also Fergie and Max who are young. Frank Ross, Dean Campbell, Bruce Anderson and Connor McLennan are coming through too, and then there is Scott Wright, so there’s a real crop of young players knocking on the door and some are featuring in the first team just now so it’s brilliant for everybody and it pushes us on. You’ve got to make sure you’re competing every day in training with performance levels high.
“You’ve just got to enjoy the opportunity of getting to play in a final. On a personal note it’s nice, but the most important thing is getting the opportunity to get Aberdeen to compete in another cup final. “Success is expected here and that’s what’s been brought to the club with this squad over the last five years or so. You thrive under that expectation and it’s not good enough just getting to a semi. We need to get to a final and go and win it. I love that aspect to it and that challenge and today we’ve managed to be good enough to get through to the final.
“We’ve got to draw massive confidence from beating Rangers in Glasgow. With each big game that comes we need to prove people wrong and step up on the pitch and show a bit of personality and quality as well and make sure we progress into finals. It’s only by being successful and getting into finals and winning cups you can start to quash those doubters. I’m delighted to be there and hopefully we can go one step further and win it.”
Mikey Devlin celebrates at full time
Mikey Devlin celebrates at full time
Scott McKenna
“It’s not like a league game where you can maybe not win the game, but claw it back the next time, you’re either in the cup or you’re out the cup and thankfully after this result we’re still in it.
“We all needed to take a bit of responsibility and when the ball came in we had to get a head or foot on it and make sure they didn’t get a first time shot away.
“The second half I thought we were better. They had a lot of possession and never really troubled us and as the longer the game went we got a lot more of the ball and we got our goal.
“It was pure relief to get a goal and give us something to hang onto. There was only 10 minutes left and we knew if we could just stay tight and get boys behind the ball and stay narrow then we’d have a great chance of winning.
“It was all about concentration at the end and they threw a lot of bodies forward so again you just need to be brave and stay with your man and don’t let them get across you. That was the same with the corner in the last minute. One of us managed to get a head on it and we all squeeze out and thankfully the ref blows the whistle.
“We played Celtic a few weeks ago and there was nothing in the game. If we had got the first goal in that game I think we’d have won, it so we’ll take a lot of confidence from Sunday going into the final.
“I’m sure there will be times in the final that Celtic will be on top and we’ll need to dig deep and stay in the game. Hopefully if we do get a period of being on the ball we can put the pressure on them.
“It’s been stop start for me and it’s disappointing to miss so many games early on, but I think during the suspension, the Scotland games in between, that gave me important minutes in the legs and made me more ready for this than I maybe would have been.
“We made up for a lot of wrongs from last year when Motherwell beat us in the semi-final so to come here and get to the final especially for the fans who have always backed us it’s brilliant for everyone. On a personal note I didn’t play well in that game against Motherwell so coming in today the result was the only thing that mattered and thankfully we’ve sent all the fans up the road happy.
“We need to take as much confidence from this as we can and hopefully into our league form. There are three games before the next break and we’ll be aiming to pick up nine points.”
