THERE was a time around the start of this season where Derek McInnes must have felt it was never raining but it was pouring.

First, star striker Sam Cosgrove picked up an injury in a pre-season match against Hibernian that would keep him out for the first few months of the campaign. Then, eight Aberdeen players inexplicably decided to flout Coronavirus regualtions on a night out in the city, leading to the postponement of matches and the club taking the sort of kicking that Doug Rougvie used to dish out in his Dons heyday.

That they are going into today’s Scottish Cup semi-final on something of a crest of a wave then is all the more remarkable when you take their nightmare summer into consideration. Not only have McInnes’s men rallied to position themselves in their now customary spot stalking the Premiership leaders, but Cosgrove has even made it back to fitness ahead of schedule to take his place in this afternoon’s squad.

For McInnes, the flak they took over the Covid breaches, far from destroying Aberdeen’s season, has been the making of it.

“I knew everything would settle down but there was a lot of noise surrounding us and we took a kicking,” McInnes said.

“We were so annoyed with ourselves because we felt we’d been so stringent with what we were doing, but the players let their guard down and ultimately the club got beaten up for that.

“Everyone and anyone was making comment, but we felt we had been doing a lot of things better than most.

“We were the first club to fall short of the protocols and it was through naivety.

“I felt we had to come fighting back as a club and get the right response.

“We’d had one competitive game in five months then went to St Johnstone without a striker on the books. We were pretty average at best that night. St Johnstone were into a rhythm and we were not, so we just wanted to get out of there with something.

“We scored that late goal, that allowed us to find our rhythm and confidence.

“Behind it all there has been a real calmness within, everyone came back in and focused on their work.

“The players have fostered a real togetherness and spirit - and that plays out in their performances.

“It has been a good start and I do think coming through that adversity has galvanised us.

“Sometimes when you have to come through something it helps with the focus and togetherness.”

Even the injury to Cosgrove had its own silver lining, in that it convinced the Aberdeen board to strengthen at the top end of the pitch, with the arrivals of Ryan Edmondson and Marley Watkins.

“We had to react to Sam’s injury and then to Ryan picking up his one as well,” said McInnes.

“We had European games to deal with and wanted to get off to a good start.

“Sam’s injury in particular was pretty serious, it was our last pre-season game at Pittodrie against Hibs. We had set up with a back five, three in midfield and Sam up front with Bruce Anderson. That was our thinking. Within ten minutes he was off injured.

“Curtis (Main) was not really making headway with his thigh so we were well short, the injuries forced our hand.

“We wouldn’t have got Ryan without Sam being injured and we wouldn’t have got Marley without Ryan getting injured. Ryan turned his ankle in training within a week.

“We had four strikers signed but unavailable at the one time, so we had to make space in the squad.

“Getting Marley in has been very important to us because he’s a different type of striker, he’s not a traditional number nine.

“He can play with Sam and he can play with Curtis or Ryan - he’s trustworthy because players can play off him.

“(Lewis) Ferguson doesn’t make that run beyond the Celtic defence [last week] if Marley is not on the ball. He is quite secure in possession. He is a strong boy, is a good mover and can play wide or central.

“I think he’ll benefit from having a physical presence beside him, a traditional number nine.

“A consequence of events has brought us to where we are, we had to react.”

Whether Cosgrove does start alongside Watkins remains to be seen with the forward still searching for full match fitness, but the chaos he caused for the Celtic defence following his introduction last Sunday is certainly giving his manager food for thought.

“Sam wasn’t on the park long on Sunday but Celtic certainly knew he was there and his team-mates got a lift from him,” he said.

“Because for two years he has been our talisman. There’s no doubt about that.

“Any team’s main striker, as consistent as Sam, when he start to come back into the fray it does give his team-mates a lift. It felt like that having Sam back on the pitch.

“Instantly we looked better. I think we can all see he has loads still to do to sharpen up his game but he hits the bar, he is involved in the penalty, he forces the save for (Ryan) Hedges’ goal.

“He was involved right away, he got us up the pitch. No longer were their centre-halfs booming headers 30 yards, things were dropping for (Scott) Wright and Hedges to get onto and they capitalised.

“He played a key part and I do think having him available either to start or from the bench is going to be a benefit to us.

“But if you count lockdown he has not had a lot of football since March.”