WHEN Derek McInnes spurned the advances of Rangers in December he revealed the reason was he had “unfinished business” at Pittodrie despite the success he had enjoyed in the preceding four-and-a-half years.

Yet, having ended an 18-year wait to lift silverware in the League Cup in 2014, finished runners-up behind Celtic in the Premiership four seasons running, been regular visitors to Hampden and featured in the Europa League qualifying rounds five times, how much more can he achieve in the north-east?

McInnes, though, remains unfulfilled. As his side prepared to face the club he could have joined in the Betfred Cup semi-final, he outlined what he craves more of at Pittodrie succinctly.

“Trophies,” he said. “I have never shied away from that. In recent seasons, no other club has played as many semi-finals and finals as us outwith Celtic. We have been there and at least given ourselves a chance.

“But we have only won one and we would love to try and make that more of course. That gives you real reward, real satisfaction, when there is something tangible there if you can manage to win it.”

Having been to six semi-finals and three finals since joining Aberdeen in 2013 the fact he has only lifted one trophy still rankles McInnes. He takes their near misses personally, despite the vast sums the Celtic side who have pipped them twice have to spend on players. This competition, then, offers him another opportunity to atone for what have been painful failures.

“I feel my responsibility,” he said. “Nobody knows better than me here how important it is to win games. You feel the responsibility as a manager. But I would much rather be in a position where we are trying and we are close to it than not even talking about it.

“Sometimes you put yourselves forward to get these disappointments. We have won three semi-finals and we have lost three. The contrast in emotions is huge. It can’t be quantified how low it can make you feel and how high it can make you feel and how proud it can make you feel.

“I have had that pain as well as a player, winning and losing, so I know exactly what it entails. Sometimes it is not always the best team that gets through semi-finals or the team that produces the best performance. Sometimes it is about finding a way to get through it. Hopefully the sum of everything goes our way on Sunday.”

McInnes has coped with the loss of important Aberdeen players like Jonny Hayes, Ryan Jack, Niall McGinn and Ash Taylor admirably in the past. But the departure of Ryan Christie, Kenny McLean and Adam Rooney this summer has led to an uncharacteristic dip in form. Their league form has been disappointing and they currently sit seventh in the top flight table.

“You can’t replace like for like,” he said. “It is difficult to keep making those necessary adjustments which are going to improve the team. But you hope through working with players over a period of time that you then get back to that level of consistency and get performances from them. That is the challenge for me."

The man who was courted by Sunderland and Rangers last year has felt the pressure, but that is, despite the consistency Aberdeen have displayed during his tenure, nothing new.

“I’ve had that at some point every season,” he said. “You go through bumps and dips. You just try to keep those little inconsistent runs to a minimum. We are always a team that goes on really strong undefeated runs each season. We’ve just got to make sure we try and get those back to back win and build momentum.”

Rangers will be without Kyle Lafferty, who is cup tied having played for Hearts earlier in the competition, and Alfredo Morelos, who is suspended, and McInnes admitted he is unsure how Steven Gerrard will deal with the absence of his two first-choice strikers.

“There’s nothing obvious staring at you,” he said. “But good teams cope with losing good players. They are the two strikers who predominantly play, but there are others who I’m sure can fill in at centre-forward. You will always try and second guess the opposition, but I think it’s important not to focus too much on it to be honest. The team set at Rangers has been consistent so you maybe look more at the system than individuals within it.”

Aberdeen supporters will, having had to hand back thousands of unsold tickets to the SPFL, be greatly outnumbered by Rangers fans, but McInnes expects that to have little bearing on what happens on the pitch.

“It normally comes down to quality moments, mistakes, concentration, these types of things,” he said. “Without doubt, crowds have a part to play, but I will just be trying to concentrate on the football. The weight of expectation can be that bit greater elsewhere. But it can be difficult here too. You just have to try to concentrate on what is important which is winning games.”