Midfielder Ross McCrorie accepts Aberdeen must challenge to win silverware every season.
The Reds have not won a trophy since the League Cup in 2014 and McCrorie is desperate to end that eight year drought.
Aberdeen travel to League Two part-timers Annan Athletic in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup tonight.
Struggling Annan are second bottom of Scotland’s fourth tier.
However McCrorie, 24, insists the Reds will not underestimate Annan’s potential danger as there is no pressure on the minnows.
He said: “Aberdeen are a big club in this country and we should be challenging for both the cups.
“It (is) essential that we approach it in the right manner.
“We will have respect for Annan.
“They have done well to get out their group and they are quite a dangerous team because there is no pressure on them.
“We have been in the last two days training and working on our game plan.
“Hopefully we can execute that the best we can and come out on top.”
Challenge to maintain momentum
Annan Athletic progressed to the knock-out stages by topping their group, at the expense of Premiership St Johnstone.
The Galabank Stadium outfit, who play on an artificial surface, have failed to win in their last four matches.
Aberdeen however are on a high having swept aside 10 man Livingston 5-0 at the weekend.
McCrorie was on target in that win with a thunderous 18 yard strike.
âš½ Ross McCrorie capping off his MOTM display with a fine finish.#StandFree | @RossMcCrorie4 pic.twitter.com/ArqUE3nIes
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) August 28, 2022
It was the first time since December last year Aberdeen had secured back to back Premiership wins.
Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin rebuild the squad in the summer, signing 11 players.
He aims to secure at least one more signing before the summer transfer window closes at midnight on Thursday.
McCrorie insists Aberdeen must consistently deliver a high level of performance, and wins.
He said: “The weekend result was good but we won’t get carried away with ourselves.
“It is still very early on in the season.
“We banged in the goals and we were pretty ruthless against Livingston.
“It is a good sign but we need to keep that up. We need to keep that consistency up and perform like that week in, week out.”
The scoring impact of Miovski
Aberdeen have spent in excess of £1.5 million in transfer fees on a squad overhaul.
The most significant outlay was the £535,000 paid to Hungarian club MTK Budapest for striker Bojan Miovski.
North Macedonian international Miovski has scored six goals in his first six games.
Aberdeen secured the 23-year-old on a long term contract until summer 2026.
Miovski will lead the line against Annan tonight as the Reds bid to set up a quarter-final spot.
The striker initially trained with the Dons at their pre-season camp in Spain.
However he could not travel back to Scotland with the squad as his Visa had not been processed.
Miovski missed the first three Premier Sports Cup games while the Reds waited on his Visa to be processed.
He was then thrown into the starting line-up for a debut against Raith Rovers within 24 hours of arriving in the Granite City.
And Miovski responded by netting within six minutes of his debut, a 3-0 defeat of Raith in the Premier Sports Cup.
Miovski quality immediately evident
McCrorie insists Miovski’s quality was clear from day one in Spain.
He said: “Bojan has been brilliant, even on the training ground.
“He has got on well since the first day we met him over in Spain.
“You just see wee bits of his game, different movements, and he has that knack of always being in the right area.
“Bojan is a top striker. He has come in and hit the ground running and hopefully he can keep that up for us.”
‘Bojan is a real team player’
McCrorie insists Miovski offers so much more to the team than goals.
He reckons the North Macedonian international, capped 10 times, also runs himself into the ground for the team.
McCrorie said: “Bojan is a real team player. His finishing is really good but it is not just that.
“He works hard for the team and runs all day long. That’s what you want.”
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