Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie insists his side must heed the harsh lessons learned from their Hampden humbling by Celtic.
The Dons suffered their first defeat of the season under manager Jimmy Thelin in the toughest manner possible as the Hoops dished out a 6-0 hammering on Aberdeen in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
The mauling at the National Stadium was a bitter blow to the Dons, who arrived in Glasgow with huge confidence, and skipper Shinnie believes there is much to learn from their heavy defeat.
The midfielder said: “If we’re not at the top of our game, then those things happen. It’s a learning curve for a lot of us. We need to react from it now.
“They moved the ball very well. They had rotations like they normally do. They played well. They played really well.
“When we don’t play to our strengths and to our full capacity, then that’s what happens.”
Thelin labelled the defeat a bump in the road and the sentiment was echoed by the Aberdeen captain following their Hampden loss.
The manner of the defeat was hard to take but for Shinnie it is the response which matters now.
He said: “Well, it’s a massive bump in the road, but we have to regroup and go again next week. We’ve had a good start to the season.
“That’s one that will bring us right back down to earth. These are the reasons why we say we have to take it one game at a time, because it’s important.
“We’ll reflect on this during the week, draw a line under it and we have to move on to next week now.
“We need to be more resilient. We need to roll our sleeves up and fight a bit more. I thought we let them dictate the play and let them do what they want at times.
“They’re good players and if you allow them to do it they’ll punish you. They were very good on the day and you’ve got to give them credit for that.
“We played at Celtic Park and we got a draw in that game. But every game is different and if you allow Celtic to be what they can be, that’s what happens.”
Shinnie grateful for Red Army’s support
Despite their loss in a one-sided semi-final the Aberdeen squad received a rousing reception from the travelling Red Army at the end of the game.
The warm applause and cheering in recognition of the team’s efforts so far this season rather than the difficult 90 minutes which unfolded at Hampden, was warmly received by the crestfallen Dons squad.
Shinnie said: “We’re extremely grateful after the game with the way they reacted to us. That’s massive for us. We as a team, as a squad and a staff are very, very grateful for that.
“It’s up to us now to turn it around next week and get back on the winning trail.
“You’ve got to take a step back and it’s going to hurt for a couple of days. But once you take a step back and you get over it, it’s about moving on.
“We are in a strong position in the league so it’s about trying to build on that next week and get back to winning ways.
“We’ve got to learn from this especially. We’re not putting it to the back burner. It’s disappointing.
“We wanted to get through to the final and we’re annoyed at how we were and how we played.
“But it’s done now and we have to now look forward to next week and, like I said, be a different team than we were at Hampden.”
Skipper shoots down suggestions fatigue was a factor
Aberdeen manager Thelin stuck with the same starting XI which beat Rangers 2-1 at Pittodrie in midweek but they failed to reproduce their fine showing in Glasgow.
The Dons were overrun from the first minute to the last by a rampant Hoops outfit which featured six changes from their midweek win against Dundee.
Shinnie, however, was quick to dismiss suggestions fatigue was a factor in the semi-final defeat.
He said: “I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t use that as an excuse. We just weren’t good enough on the day.
“We were not good enough. They were very good on the day. We weren’t and when you give them that space, they are very good and they will punish you.
“I just didn’t think we got near them. We didn’t have enough resilience. The goals were really poor. It was just an all-round bad day and it was a sore one in terms of the result.
“The goals, the manner of the goals at key moments of the game, conceding from a set-piece to start was frustrating. If they cut you open and score with a bit of magic, then fair enough. But from a set-piece, we need to defend better.
“I thought they were very good on the day and we just didn’t turn up at all.”
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