By
Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
- Published7 minutes ago
Rangers manager Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media before the League Cup semi-final againstAberdeenon Saturday (17:30 GMT).
Here are they key points:
McInnes say reaching the final and potentially winning the trophy "would be so important" for everyone at Rangers and "reinforce confidence, reinforce belief".
He stresses Rangers must "turn up" and knows semi-finals can be "fraught with a lot of nerves and tension".
On facing his old side Aberdeen, who don't have their troubles to seek, he says they'll "be relishing this opportunity" and are "capable of a big performance" despite Rangers being viewed as favourites.
McInnes says from his experience of managing St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen in semi-finals they were never the favourites but always felt confident that we could win the game".
The Ibrox boss feels "sympathy" for Pittodrie counterpart Stephen Robinson, adding. "I've managed the club for eight years up there and it's not always an easy club to manage, but they've got a good guy there and a guy who will get it right if given time, I have no doubts about it."
Reflecting on Wednesday night's draw at Hearts, McInnes was disappointed at not being able to capitalise on taking the lead and admits Rangers were "second best for periods of the game", but have to "take the good" from coming back for a point.
He praises the players' "resilience and strength of character to keep going", but knows there are aspects "we clearly needed to be better at".
Tochi Chukwuani is having a scan on a knee injury that makes him a doubt for the semi-final, with the midfielder feeling a "bit of discomfort in it".
McInnes wouldn't be drawn on his tetchy handshake with Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken at full-time: "I wasn't emotional, there wasn't any tension on my end."
He launched a defender of Emmanuel Fernandez amid fan critcism of the centre-back's form. "I only get asked about Fernandes when he has a poor game," says McInnes. "Nobody asked me about Fernandez on Saturday, he was outstanding on Saturday. Last night wasn't on Manny Fernandes, last night was a collective. He's been a big part of our better performances this season.
