Joe Lewis wants cup success with Aberdeen
Joe Lewis knows all too well about the significance of the Betfred Cup to Aberdeen as he prepares for the quarter-final tie against St Johnstone on Thursday night.
The Dons penalty shoot-out win over Inverness in the final at Celtic Park in March 2014 brought a major trophy to the Granite City for the first time in 19 years.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper, who signed from Cardiff in the summer, is regularly reminded of that day and insists it has given him the desire for a repeat.
He said: "The lads have spoken about that. It gets mentioned every now and then and there are plenty of photos around the place reminding you of that win.
"It does make you hungry to get a bit of that and we have an opportunity on Thursday night to get into the semi-final, if we can win, and something we will relish.
"Before I signed that is one of the things the manager said, that when you come to Aberdeen there is that expectation on the players from the fans, from the city, from the press, from everyone around the place, and the pressure that you need to do well.
"To progress in the cup competitions is great for the club and you see from a couple of years ago, winning the cup like they did, the memories they have got around the place and the players they have got are fantastic so I would love be part of something like that in the future.
"We are confident and will do everything we can to win the game but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We are playing against a good team.
"The biggest challenge for us is Thursday night and we know that St Johnstone are in good form, on the back of a good win themselves (against Hearts) so we need to be on our game to make sure we get through to the next round."
Aberdeen go into the match on the back of a 3-1 win over Dundee at Dens Park at the weekend which moved them into fourth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership, and have no fresh injury worries, with Ryan Jack (knee) still out.
St Johnstone defender Brian Easton claims an impressive recent record against Lewis' side is giving the Perth side confidence as they bid to reach another semi-final.
The rivals drew 0-0 at Perth on day one of the campaign, but last term Saints claimed a 5-1 win at Pittodrie, where they travel on Thursday night.
Both teams faced each other in two semi-finals in the 2013-14 campaign with Aberdeen going on to lift the League Cup and Saints claiming Scottish Cup glory.
Easton said: "I wasn't too surprised when the draw was made and we were playing Aberdeen again. We've had a few cup ties with them in recent years.
"This is a big game in a big month for us. But we know it won't be easy up at Pittodrie. I watched Aberdeen against Dundee and they were impressive. They can be clinical if you give them chances.
"But we have no fears going to Aberdeen. It's a one-off game and we are going up there looking to win."
Steven Anderson has been confirmed as club captain after Dave MacKay's retirement, while Danny Swanson and Chris Millar are expected to be fit for the clash, but Keith Watson (thigh) and Tam Scobbie (knee) remain injured.
Source: PAR
