There is no chance Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes will rest any of his players for tonight’s Betfred Cup quarter-final with St Johnstone to keep them fresh for Rangers.
The Ibrox club’s players, who eased into the final four of the competition with a comfortable 5-0 success against Queen of the South, will have an extra two days to prepare for the Sunday match.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton declared his players are ready to face the Dons after the Light Blues shrugged off the controversy caused by Joey Barton, who will miss the trip to Pittodrie as he serves a three-week club suspension, with a convincing win.
Manager McInnes understands the added interest that generated by Sunday’s match – but has no plans to alter his line-up for tonight’s cup tie to improve his side’s prospects on Sunday.
He said: “I will name what I think will be the best team to win the St Johnstone game. It is too big a match to do otherwise.
“It doesn’t affect anything. We will see where we are after that. The objective is to try to get through the tie and into a semi-final and then we will see how we are fixed.
“It is not ideal having another game three days later when our opponents have five days to prepare.
“I totally understand the interest in the Rangers match, but it is our job at the club to be professional and gear towards this game.”
The Dons have much to focus on this evening as they try to address their poor record against St Johnstone with a place in the last four of the Betfred Cup at stake.
The Dons have won only one of seven matches against the Perth Saints and former McDiarmid Park manager McInnes expects a difficult match – with extra time and penalties a possibility should the score be level after 90 minutes.
McInnes added: “They’ve got loads of experience in their team, players who never get too panicked by certain situations. They know what they’re doing.
“People say they punch above their weight. I don’t know about that. They’re littered with good players and they’ve got a good management team.
“The fact they’ve been so consistent over five or six years, qualifying for Europe more often than not, that’s partly down to the fact it’s a lot of the same players there.”