exclusive footage now on RedTV

An estimated 70,000 Aberdeen supporters this afternoon lined Union Street to see the Scottish League Cup trophy being paraded through the city centre. The open top bus carrying the management team, the players and the trophy left Albyn Place at just after 1pm and slowly made its way down Union Street to the Town House. At the Town House captain Russell Anderson and manager Derek McInnes did the traditional photo opportunity where they went onto the Town House balcony holding the cup aloft.

REDTV had exclusive access to the bus

Derek McInnes spoke to REDTV as the bus made its way slowly down Aberdeen’s main street.

“We have all seen the scenes from past Aberdeen teams and the big crowds on days like this so you are always a bit weary if people will turn out for you but they certainly did. Thankfully the weather was ok and the turnout was brilliant. The number of supporters helped make the day even more special for the players and myself. It will be a day both the players and fans won’t forget.

“I said when I arrived at the club that I wanted the fans and the city to fall back in love with the football club again. Aberdeen Football Club has a really loyal core of supporters who turn up every week. There are other supporters who were not sure if the club was going in the right direction but day’s like today can only help get people back on board.

“The way the team has performed this season has brought a bit of pride back to the city. We know we are not the finished article and there is still a lot of hard work to be done but the fans appreciate we have a team that represents them well.

“Between now and the end of the season we have to build on the momentum that we have created. We have still got a lot to play for this season but even it terms of looking ahead to next season and beyond we have got to try and use the momentum to keep progressing. It is important we keep recruiting well and if we do that we will hopefully have more days like this.”

Adam Rooney:

“It’s been absolutely fantastic since I came in. You can see the support that we have here today- it’s incredible! It’s a great day for the city and all the fans and hopefully it’s the first of many.

“Everyone at the club, the fans, the games we’ve had- it’s all been going very well and we just have to make sure we keep doing that until the end of the season.

“We weren’t sure what the turnout would be but the whole street is covered from one end to the other- it’s brilliant! A great day!”

Barry Robson:

“It shows how big a football club this is. It’s been a long time waiting and I’m sure everybody here today is going to enjoy their day. If you include the crowd we managed to get at Parkhead – it’s been sensational the support we have had in the past few weeks.

“The boys are delighted and we’ve got a chance to come and do it again. That’s the kind of squad we’ve got that we’re looking to do it again!”

Cammy Smith:

“We’ve heard all about it before back in the old days and it’s great to experience it. I wasn’t quite sure how many would turn out but it’s absolutely filled and it’s been a brilliant day so far.

“It would mean everything for us to go on and win the double. We’ve got a great chance but we’ve got it all to do in the semi-final. We’ve still got to take care of league business as well and we’re all just craving more success after the good feeling of last Sunday.”

Niall McGinn:

“You live for days like these. To see the number of people that have turned out- we didn’t even expect half this crowd- it’s just unbelievable the number of fans that have turned out!

“It just makes you more hungry. We’ve won one cup now and if we keep putting in the performances that we have done you never know- they’re may be another day like this.

“It shows what it means to everyone. It’s good to see them turn out in their numbers and hopefully they can stick with us for the rest of the season.”

Nicky Low:

“It’s obviously the highlight of my career so far- to lift the trophy was incredible. Hopefully it’s the first of many.

“I was just happy to score the penalty! The boys held their nerve when Inverness missed two so we’re just delighted to get the win so we could enjoy and experience this today.

Peter Pawlett:

“Davie Wylie spoke about this before and the experience of it is just unbelievable- it’s a great day.

“I was really disappointed to miss the final but we’ve got the chance to experience it again. It just gives the boys the hunger to do it!”

Russell Anderson:

“Not taking anything away from the actual day itself but to see the turnout today is absolutely incredible. I think they were expecting a big turnout but this is incredible!

“When I returned to the club this was the furthest thing from my mind to be honest – I was just hoping to prolong my career for a couple of seasons so I couldn’t have in my wildest imagination thought we would end up with this.

“I think once you get a taste for it- it’s been a long time coming- there’s no reason why we can’t go for it again. We’ve got a good opportunity to try to get through to the Scottish Cup Final so we really want to be back here in May to experience this again.”

Ryan Jack:

“The whole city is buzzing and it’s a great feeling once again. It top’s off last Sunday as well.

“You can see all the people that have come out on the streets to show their support for us and all the boys are grateful for that- it’s absolutely amazing!”

Scott Vernon:

“It shows the strength of the city. We’re all very proud to have produced for these guys which is the most important thing for us.

“We were overwhelmed at Celtic Park with the numbers that turned out and today just emphasise that again. It’s just fantastic for the city that you can see everyone has come together.

“It’s one of the best moments of my career. It’s hard because you want to bottle it up and take it with you but it’s something that I’ll always remember. We don’t want to rest on that and theres a chance to do it again in a few weeks so we’ll be going for that!”

Shay Logan:

“This is unbelievable! I didn’t think that it would be like this. I knew there would be a lot of fans here but I didn’t think there would be anything like this what so ever.

“To see this, shows the support this city gives their football team.”

RedImages | Newsline Scotland

RedImages | Newsline Scotland