Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis insists there is no time for him or his team-mates to feel sorry for themselves as they bid to put Saturday’s Premiership loss to Hearts behind them and reach another Scottish Cup final.
The Dons lost 2-0 in what was a poor Tynecastle showing from Derek McInnes’s side but, with a cup semi-final against Motherwell to prepare for this weekend, Lewis knows there is no time for anyone to lick their wounds.
He said: “The manager is not happy and the players are not happy, either. It’s not a performance we are proud of but it’s also not one we put in regularly and we have to put it behind us and get ready for a massive game on Saturday.
“Hopefully, this result is a kick up the backside and we can’t afford to do that on Saturday. We have make sure we are a lot better and it is important this week that we get ourselves going again and show this is just a blip.
“We have to use Tuesday’s performance against Motherwell and replicate it against the same side.”
Aberdeen’s defeat at Tynecastle was compounded by Rangers’ victory against Dundee at Ibrox which allowed them to move above the Dons into second place on goal difference.
Lewis is frustrated at seeing his team lose the grip on second place so quickly after claiming it but is convinced the Reds can bounce back.
He said: “We were punished for our sloppiness and when you go 2-0 down to a team that defends well it is an uphill task. We are frustrated at that way we played but we have to concentrate on ourselves.
“We know we are good enough. We know we are better than we showed against Hearts and we need to show that for the remaining games.”