Mats Knoester urges Dons team-mates to focus on jobs not occasion in cup final

Aberdeen centre-back Mats Knoester will take a fresh and painful lesson into Saturday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final.

The Dutch defender suffered a 1-0 defeat in last season’s Danish Cup final while playing on loan with Aarhus.

Knoester felt his side were caught up in the occasion at the crucial moment against Silkeborg and is determined to focus on the football and not the trophy when Aberdeen take on Celtic at Hampden.

The former Feyenoord youth player, who joined Aberdeen from Ferencvaros in January, said: “I’m looking forward to it very much. Of course it’s the biggest game of the season, and I think also the nicest, because there’s a prize at stake.

“In one way, of course it’s very different, because you can win the cup, which is massive. On the other hand, it’s a game which we play every week, so we also need to focus on the things as a player or as a team we need to do well to actually get there.

“So don’t think like, oh, final, final, final, and then forget what we need to do. It’s about finding that balance and then go out there and take it.”

The 26-year-old added: “I had a cup final last season. In that game we were doing all right, but a minor error got us a 1-0 defeat.

“So the lesson is that in that game I felt like the team was a bit too busy with winning a cup final instead of focusing on your tasks as a player and as a team. So that’s the lesson I take. Take it step by step.”