Stephen Robinson said everyone outside Aberdeen expected his side to be beaten heavily by Rangers at Hampden, but after a spirited display in a narrow 1-0 Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat, the Dons boss believes his players proved they belong at the club.
Ryan Naderi's late winner secured victory for Derek McInnes' men and booked Rangers' place in the final on December 13. Aberdeen, decimated by defensive injuries, pushed the Ibrox side close, and Robinson was proud of the performance.
Manager's pride despite criticism
Robinson and his squad have faced heavy criticism in recent weeks after a poor start to their Premiership campaign, but he could not fault the grit and determination shown by his players at Hampden. He urged them to display the same resilience regularly.
"You'd need to ask the fans if they saw positive performances. I can only answer for myself but I saw a group of boys give everything in adversity," he said. "Everyone expected us to roll over and get battered but that wasn't the case.
"They've shown they have the character to play for Aberdeen in big games, no doubt. But we've told them that's the bare minimum: Energy, organisation, work ethic. Energy, organisation, work ethic.
"Any team I've been involved in, that's the basis of success. They've shown they can do that so I've no complaints with their performance. But it needs to be done on a regular basis. There's no leeway when you play for Aberdeen, you don't get two games where no-one judges you.
"To a man, I'm proud of them.
"I'm obviously disappointed with the result and Rangers scored during our best spell in the game which is unfortunate.
"But it's been a tough week for us with injuries, really tough.
"Considering the week we've had, they showed great character and courage.
"We were really well organised and Rangers didn't look like they were going to score.
"But ultimately, they're a very good team. They have players to come on and win the game - and they've spent millions of pounds on those players. That was the difference between the sides today."
Young defender praised
Robinson singled out young centre-back Jack Milne for praise after he excelled at the heart of Aberdeen's defence. Given a start due to injuries at the back, Milne was superb before Naderi's clincher.
"I thought Jack, a young boy from Aberdeen who gets an incredible amount of criticism, was outstanding," the manager said. "And so was Nicky Devlin who hasn't played for months.
"Jack's a young man. It's surprising that he's from Aberdeen and gets an incredible amount of stick.
"He's only had one full season and he's a lovely boy who wants to learn.
"He's just learning the game and in the centre-half position you don't really mature until you're 28 or 29.
"I thought he showed real character today, as did the whole team.
"We just lacked that final bit of quality to get a goal."
Injuries mount but positives remain
Robinson picked up two more injuries at Hampden, with Emmanuel Gyamfi and Brad Lyons crocked. He remains convinced there are positives to take forward as he guides the club through a difficult spell.
"It's tough because half the squad are not available. Any team that does well, there's consistency and patience," he said. "Over time, the last person that had prolonged success in Aberdeen was Derek (McInnes).
"He was given a lot of time and a lot of support but we've not been able to put a consistent team, never mind a consistent shape on the pitch.
"It's four changes every week at the moment.
"They rose against adversity this time. They put in a real performance. It's easy to lay down and make excuses. They didn't and they didn't speak about it before the game."
