Andy Considine believes his side’s testing trip to Livingston is the perfect preparation for Aberdeen’s Betfred Cup quarter-final at Hearts on Wednesday.
The beautiful game was left battered and bruised following a hard-fought and at times unpleasant 90 minutes between the Dons and Livi on Saturday but the Dons took the points thanks to a 2-0 win ahead of Wednesday’s cup tie at Tynecastle.
Considine said: “It’s a massive week for us, almost a season definer a little bit for a team which has been in semi-finals and finals. Wednesday will be a huge game.
“I’ve been in the game long enough to know there at times when it won’t be pretty and it’s all about getting the job done.
“I expect more of this style of game at Hearts so we will need to stand up to it, but hopefully we can play a bit more football as it’s on grass, but Tynecastle is always a tough place to go.”
Goals from Considine and Sam Cosgrove secured the points for Derek McInnes side at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
Considine knows his side’s display was the embodiment of winning ugly but he made no apologies.
He said: “I feel you like you get half a dozen games a season like this and it was almost a smash and grab to be honest but we’ll take it. It’s a results business.
“You’ve seen teams come here and try to play football and that is what Livingston want you to do. They are great at turning the ball over and the manager didn’t want us to do that.
“We were trying to play between their central defenders and full backs but it was a struggle. It would be nice to have played a bit better and had more control of the game but we knew how tough it would be and we managed to steal a result.
“My goal was a corner routine we’ve worked on for a number of years and I was delighted to get on the scoresheet. When Sam scored the penalty it was a breath of fresh air for us as I felt we were peppered the whole game.”
Cosgrove again showed his value to the team as he came off the bench to score his 11th goal of the season and Considine knows the forward’s contribution will be just as crucial in the capital.
He said: “The whole squad is going to be vital this week. As everyone knows we’re struggling for numbers of experienced players and we all have to be on our toes.
“Big Sam has been brilliant for us, he really has. He helped with holding up the ball and running in behind and if he plays on Wednesday he will be massive.”