Niall McGinn hopes this is the season he can check off the trophy he has coveted since joining Aberdeen.
It is 30 years since the Dons last lifted the Scottish Cup and they can move to within one place of the final if they win their quarter-final tie at St Mirren on Saturday (7.20pm).
McGinn, pictured, was on the losing end of his side’s valiant effort to prevent Celtic from winning the treble for the first time under Brendan Rodgers as Tom Rogic’s late goal gave the Hoops a 2-1 win at Hampden in 2017 and he is desperate to get his hands on the cup.
He said: “I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in plenty of semi-finals and finals with the club and lucky enough to win a trophy early on.
“I came here to win trophies and have been fortunate to do that in the League Cup final a few years ago. But the Scottish Cup is the one that I always wanted to get my hands on with Aberdeen.
“There’s another chance to do that now as we are in the quarters again and we all want to get back to Hampden. We have a good opportunity to do that on Saturday. If it’s going to be our year then games like the one we had at Kilmarnock will stand us in good stead.”
Following the dramatic 4-3 extra-time win in Wednesday’s fifth-round replay at Killie, the Dons were brought back to earth with a bump on Saturday as they suffered their fourth consecutive home league defeat as Ross County beat the 10-man Dons 2-1 at Pittodrie.
McGinn believes the chance to book a place in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup is the perfect pick-me-up for his side following their weekend disappointment.
He said: “After our disappointing result against County we just want to get back on to the training field as quickly as possible and think about the next game.
“It’s a massive occasion with a semi-final place at stake and we know how tough it will be down at Paisley. We’ve been there twice in the league this season and haven’t scored against them down there.
“We did manage to beat them at Pittodrie but they are a side who play nice football at the right times.
“They can defend really well too and they got a real lift from winning away to Motherwell in the last round. It won’t be easy but it is a game that we feel we are capable of winning and getting to another semi-final.”