Jim Goodwin admits Aberdeen have been playing mind games to ensure there’s no League Cup shock at Annan. The Dons boss believes psychology sessions with his squad will ensure they won’t shrink when tasked with taking care of a League Two side with big ambitions.
A trip to Galabank comes after impressive back-to-back Premiership wins and Goodwin said: “Something we’re big on is mindset. We talk about the psychology of the game and the culture we create at the training ground. We’ve got a really humble group of players, no big egos and no one will underestimate or disrespect Annan.
“We know the challenges we face. The astro pitch isn’t ideal, it’ll be quite a tight pitch. We’ll give Annan the utmost respect and prepare as professionally as we always do. The players know exactly what’s going to be required.”
A 5-0 weekend win over Livingston was another clinical display and Goodwin wants more of the same. The Dons boss said: “In this competition we’ve scored plenty of goals, kept four clean sheets and we want to continue against Annan.
“We want to be ruthless in front of goal. Nobody will be resting on our laurels or taking our foot off the gas. We want to make that long trip for the fans worthwhile and give them plenty of goals to cheer about and maintain this good feeling we’ve got. We’ve a lot of confidence in the group.We want to carry on the momentum.”
Goodwin sees no reason why his team can’t go the distance in this competition. He said: “Obviously we go into every cup competition believing we can get to Hampden but there will be another half a dozen teams with a similar approach.
“I always believe in the cups that on your day you’re capable of beating anyone. The league is different but in the cup regardless of who you get drawn against, if you play to the level you’re capable of then you have a chance of winning the game.
“Once you get to a semi-final you’re so close you can smell it. That’s where we want to get to and give the boys that experience.”
Goodwin expects to have an active transfer window deadline day and said: “I’d expect there to be a little bit of activity, one or two probably going out and hopefully one at least coming in.”
Ross McCrorie also echoed his gaffer’s belief that they should be targeting trophies and his focus is on doing a professional job on Annan.
The defender said: “Aberdeen are a big club in this country and we should be challenging for both the cups. It’s essential that we approach it in the right manner.
“We’ll have respect for them. They’ve done well to get out of their group and they’re quite a dangerous team because there’s no pressure on them. We’ve been in the last two days training and working on our game plan and hopefully we can execute that the best we can and come out on top.”
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