Aberdeen defender talks 'game plan' and 'confidence' ahead of Celtic Scottish Cup clash

Celtic are out to defend their Scottish Cup crown and will hope to make more memories at Hampden Park as they take on Aberdeen in the semi-final of the competition.

The Dons will play out the post-split league matches in the Scottish Premiership in the bottom half of the division after failing to make the top six. 

Aberdeen have experienced a turbulent season of managerial changes, but defender Angus MacDonald remains optimistic that his team can turn a disappointing campaign into a memorable one as they aim to lift the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1990.

MacDonald told the Press and Journal: “We know what we are playing for and the fans will be right behind us. Hopefully we can go on and win it.

“If you get to the final and go on to win the cup then it turns out not to be a bad season.

“We haven’t finished where we want to be in the top half of the table as the top three or four was the aim this season.

“But we’ve had a long season and played some massive games and we will do all we can to get to a cup final.”

Aberdeen lost out on Scottish League Cup glory in the final against Rangers and now know that their European hopes rest entirely on success in this competition.

The Dons haven’t beat Celtic in any of their last six seasons and are targeting a first win over the Hoops since May 2018, but having held the league champions to a 1-1 draw when the sides last met at Pittodrie, MacDonald believes his side can head to Glasgow with confidence.

He said: “It’s nice to lift the trophy but it’s also nice to know what would come from that as well.

“We take confidence from the draw against them here the last time and will go with a game plan.

“If we win the cup, finish as high as we can then we can say it’s not been as bad a season given some of the tough games we’ve played.”

MacDonald has the added impetus of playing at Hampden for the first time after not being involved in the League Cup semi-final or final earlier in the campaign.

He said: “It’s a massive bonus to have a fully fit squad but hopefully I can do everything I can to keep my place.”