McInnes ready to accept punishment
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes will hold his hands up to whatever punishment comes his way following his touchline bust-up with Hearts assistant Billy Brown.
The pair had to be separated after the Jambos coach wheeled into the Dons' technical area as he celebrated 17-year-old Jordan McGhee's late winner in the Gorgie side's 2-1 win at Tynecastle on Saturday.
The incident at the end of a drama-filled day in the capital saw both men sent to the stands and Scottish Football Association compliance officer Vincent Lunny has now issued the pair with notices of complaint.
But McInnes is ready for what the Hampden beaks have in store for him.
Speaking before Lunny's decision to call both men in, McInnes said: "I would expect a call or a letter, and rightly so. I was surprised to see an opposition member or staff in my technical area, regardless of celebrating a goal or not. That was disappointing.
"What is also disappointing is [my behaviour]. I should not react like that and I apologised for that after the game.
"Billy apologised too, but that's not going to be the end of it and we will take whatever the consequences are when it comes."
The defeat in Edinburgh followed a home reverse to Celtic the previous weekend, but McInnes has no lingering concerns ahead of Tuesday's Scottish League Cup contest with Paul Hartley's Alloa.
"There was lots right about our performance against Celtic until the red card, while against Hearts there was no doubt we were the better team," he said.
"We created more opportunities and if we had got a couple of right decisions we would have won the game. We were disappointed with that.
"We were negligent in both boxes, for the second goal especially and for the opportunities we passed up. It's difficult to take, it's frustrating, but you move on. There are more positives than not for me."
Aberdeen's wait for a trophy stretches back to 1995, when Roy Aitken's side claimed the League Cup with a win over Dundee.
In recent years, the manner of their numerous cup exits have been a source of embarrassment for the Red Army after their team failed to topple a host of lower-division sides, including East Fife, Raith, Queen of the South and Queen's Park.
But McInnes has no concerns about past events as he prepares for his first cup fixture as Pittodrie boss.
He said: "I trust my team to be committed, full of energy and to go and create chances and cause the opposition problems.
"You are not going to get your own way for 90 minutes in every game. Regardless of who we're playing, we'll just need to make sure we deal with the opposition.
"[On Tuesday night] it is Alloa. We can't do anything about what has happened in the past. We are aware that there has been upsets here at Pittodrie when Aberdeen have been strong favourites to win and haven't gone on to do so.
"We are favourites to win but we need to make sure that, if there are upsets, they happen elsewhere. We need to be confident to do the job as well as we can and get it done.
"Alloa have some good players who will want to come here and express themselves.
"Paul encourages his team to play they way they can, which is to play on the front foot and ask questions of the opposition. We must be aware of their threats.
"But at the same time, I think we have a lot of threats in our make-up and we have got to try and utilise that. We can't let any fear or anxiety affect our performance."
Meanwhile, Hartley returns to one of his former clubs missing only Iain Flannigan who has an ankle injury.
Stephen Simmons will feature after overcoming a knock he sustained in Saturday's 3-1 win over Cowdenbeath, with former Pittodrie skipper Darren Young included after returning to the Wasps' bench on Saturday after a calf problem.
Hartley said: "I am looking forward to going back but it is a tough tie. We will look to go and enjoy it as there is no pressure on us. All I can ask the players to do is put on a decent performance.
"I am sure they will do that."
Source: PA
