Aberdeen striker Sam Cosgrove is determined to show why he has been rewarded with a new deal by firing the Dons to a second Hampden cup final this season.
The Dons forward, the club’s leading scorer with nine goals so far this season, has signed a new deal which will keep at the club until the summer of 2022.
Cosgrove is delighted to have been rewarded with a new deal and having secured his future off the pitch he is now focused on achieving success on it with the Dons.
He said: “As soon as the offer came through, it was never a matter of if I was going to sign it, it was just about getting things done as soon as possible.
“While it’s great to have security for my future, I see it as an incentive to push on and show what more I’ve got to come.
“The Scottish Cup is massive. You saw the backing in the League Cup, it’s a big day out for the fans, and the Scottish Cup is something we thrive on massively.”
Cosgrove was a key player for the Dons during a testing period in December and he is eager to build on his impressive form in the second half of the campaign.
He said: “We didn’t have the start to the season that we would have hoped for but the run that we’ve been on for the past month especially has put us in a great position going into the second half of the season.
“My form recently and over the last couple of months has been a good learning curve for me.
“The amount of fixtures we had in December was testing and grueling for the team but we have come through extremely strongly.
“The goals I’ve scored recently have been the big improvement but it is something I’ve been working on with the staff. The standard is sky high from the manager down at the club and it has helped me all-round game so much.
“We didn’t have the start we hoped for in the first few games but the run we’ve been on in December has put us in a great position heading into the second half of the season.
“The stress on the squad in recent weeks has been high but credit to everyone involved at the club, we’ve all come through it with flying colours and it’s due to the mentality of the boys.
“When you are winning games you don’t feel tired so credit to everyone for pushing through.”