Aberdeen manager Neil Warnock is enjoying his first Scottish Cup experience.
Warnock faced the Dons for the first time in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Rangers at Ibrox.
Next up is a home game against Bonnyrigg Rose of Scottish League 2 in the Scottish Cup round of 16 on Saturday.
When he was introduced as Aberdeen manager, Warnock said he would love to help the Dons achieve Scottish Cup glory.
And having taken positives from his team’s functionality against the Rangers, Warnock hopes to build on that to safely advance to the quarterfinals of the domestic competition.
But he knows from his own reports south of the border that the Dons will have to put on a strong enough display to avoid ending up in the look of some other cup shock.
Bonnyrigg earned their place in the fifth round of the competition by defeating League One leaders Falkirk – ending the Bairns’ club record 26-game unbeaten run in the process.
Warnock said: “Am I ahead of Saturday? Absolutely.
“It won’t be easy as I have been in some of those cup ties, even when I was in non-league.
“When I was at Burton Albion we knocked a club out of the league and they gave us Leicester City in the next round of the FA Cup (in 1985).
“Let’s hope we can play these (Rangers) again later on but we don’t jump too far ahead.
“We have to win on Saturday first.”
Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos has been criticized for his role in Rangers’ opening goal against the Dons.
The Dutchman overcame an effort from Ross McCausland to score Rabbie Matondo in the first game.
Warnock said: “Unfortunately, when you’re a goalkeeper and you make a mistake, it’s a goal.
“You get away with it when you bet ahead or outside.
“When we equalised, I was satisfied for him.
“The second goal was a smart save, it was just a shame that the ball came back into that court (for Todd Cantwell to score the rebound). “
After back-to-back games against Celtic and Rangers, Warnock is confident his side can start to rise as they begin to face more teams around them in the league.
Including Saturday’s Scottish Cup draw, 4 of Aberdeen’s next five fixtures will also be at home, with Motherwell and Hibernian moving to Pittodrie following Bonnyrigg’s on Saturday.
Warnock added: “The guys have played every one of the best 3 or 3 times and I think they’ve improved.
“I was disappointed (after the Rangers game) because it was a smart feature on stage after wasting a goal.
“One or two lads probably surprised me a bit having watched them on the training ground.
“He’s smart and he can improve. I think all the substitutes who came in contributed. “
Aberdeen fans’ perspective: Neil Warnock’s season may just be an entertaining interlude, but a resolution for the Dons board is yet to be reached