Aberdeen captain Joe Lewis says his side’s full focus is on tomorrow’s visit of Hamilton Accies, despite the upcoming Celtic double-header looming large on the horizon.
The Dons endured a frustrating 90 minutes at Tannadice on Saturday when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Dundee United in the first New Firm derby for four years.
Derek McInnes’ men host Hamilton tomorrow before the visit of Celtic on league duty this Sunday followed by the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden against the Hoops on November 1.
Lewis said: “I haven’t given any thought to the semi-finals yet, to be honest.
“We need to keep our full focus on the next game, which is Hamilton on Tuesday.
“We know the importance of the league this season.
“Obviously it is exciting to know that the semi is on the horizon and we have back to back games against Celtic.
“It’s disappointing the supporters won’t be in by that time, but there’s nothing we can do about that.
“We will certainly fancy ourselves when the semi comes around but the league comes first until then.”
Lewis, however, believes the Dons’ strength in depth should give them confidence heading into a crucial run.
He said: “We have a brilliant squad this season, it’s definitely the strongest since I came to the club.
“Look at the players who are not getting on the pitch and it’s going to be very difficult for the manager to keep everyone happy.
“It’s a really strong group and the lads who are playing know they have to grasp the nettle to stay there.
“We have some really exciting players in our squad.”
The Dons were almost made to pay for their profligacy against the Tangerines with Lewis denying Logan Chalmers a late winner for the hosts.
Lewis said: “We should have won that game and I don’t think anyone could dispute that we were the dominant team.
“I was a spectator for the ninety-odd minutes and only really had one bit of action on a counter-attack.
“I have been in the game for long enough to know that even though I had nothing to do, I’d probably be needed at some point.
“Thankfully I was able to save it and we cleared the danger, but that was it really.
“You have to concentrate as a goalkeeper and play your part when you’re called upon.
“Their keeper made a few good saves so there is a lot of frustration there for us.
“But we have to look at the positives, we kept a clean sheet and they have good attacking players who we kept quiet.
“I don’t think anyone could criticise our application, we went on the front foot, worked hard and won the ball in high areas of the pitch.
“It was just the deliveries into the box and the finishing touch we lacked.
“We just didn’t have enough to get the ball into the net, so we will look at that.
“We should have won – it feels like two points dropped – but we have to move forward and look towards Tuesday now.”