The Dons marched into the knockout phase of the Premier Sports Cup having won four out of four, much to the delight of Stephen Robinson.

“These games are difficult at this stage of the season, but we've won four out of four. We're not going to get too carried away. We’ve done some really good bits. There are things still to improve on, we know that. But we're creating loads of chances and producing some really good play to get into those positions.

“Kelty Hearts were really well organised. They defended in numbers, so that causes problems. That's difficult for any team to break down, but we did that.

“I don't particularly like the format of the early games, but what it does is get you fit. At Aberdeen, you've got to win every game, and it's important that you set out to do that. It's important that the new players that come in here realise that, so that was useful as well.

“These games give you ideas. You see in a competitive game what's right and what's wrong and where you can keep improving. The important thing is we're through and we’re seeded as well, we’ve built a little bit of momentum and now we have to try and continue to do that.

“I think at times at this football club it's boom or bust. I know what needs to keep improving. It's a work in progress. When we lose, it won't be the end of the world. When we win four in a row, we understand the level of opposition and we acknowledge that we're certainly not the finished article.”

The Dons were able to give debuts to Findlay Marshall and Andrew Fasanya, the latter becoming Aberdeen’s youngest ever player at 15 years, seven months and 12 days. The manger had praise for them both.

“Both Andrew and Findlay made their debuts, which was pleasing. In Findlay's case, he's trained with us every day. A year ago, he didn't have a future at the football club. He's gone away, proved everybody wrong, and he's been with us all summer. He's got a hard task because he's got Conor Ronan and Stuart Armstrong in a similar position, that's the level of quality he's competing with, but he's done that and earned the right to get his debut.

“I'm delighted for both boys. I know that Findlay may be a little bit overshadowed by Andrew's debut because he's even younger, but I think it's important to recognise him as well.

“Young Andrew's been with us all season. He's trained almost every day with us and he's a real talent. The good thing about this cup, you can play 15-year-olds. You can't play them in the league, so we wanted to get him involved because he doesn't look out of place at all strength-wise, ability-wise and he's a real prospect. He's built like a man. He's lightning quick. He's got real confidence.

“When you're young, nothing bothers you. Same with Findlay. They believe in themselves, but it's important we don’t put too much expectation on Andrew in particular. He's a really good prospect and that's all he is at this moment. Putting him on tells you what I think of him, what the coaching staff think of him. We had no doubts. It wasn't a one-minute gesture, he got a good 15 minutes in the game and nearly scored, he created a couple of chances. We'll continue to work on him in training, in terms of getting him up to speed.”

Kevin Nisbet took his tally to six for the season, but Robinson was happy to see the goals shared around.

“Kevin's a striker that's always there, but we need goals from other people as well, so it was good to see Toyosi score at the back post. We need goals from midfield. We need goals from set plays, we just can't rely on Kevin, but what you do know is if you create chances, he scores goals. Ayoub is in the right position all the time. His goals will come as he gets sharper and more used to Scottish football, but I believe we've got potential to score goals.

“Kjartan’s goal was good for him. He has all the attributes. He's still a very, very young boy, him and Findlay are very similar ages. Because he's a big boy, you forget how young he is. He was able to control the game. The game's slower where he comes from, so he has to get used to that, and he'll do that by playing games.

“It was good to give Stuart 90 minutes. You don't play where Stuart's played if you're not top quality, and he showed that again today. Him and Conor Ronan competing for places, sometimes playing on the same team, they are real high quality players we're talking about here. It’s been a good couple of weeks, but now it all steps up a level over the next week ahead of Hearts.”