McCann on 'hell for leather' cup tie, Dons reaction & fan frustration

Manager Neil McCann has been speaking to the media before Kilmarnock host Aberdeen in the League Cup quarter-finals on Saturday (17:45 BST). Here are the key points: McCann says the cup tie has a "different feel" from last weekend's league match between the sides and will be "hell for leather". He adds: "We set our team out to win every game and we want to be aggressive. It's got a slightly different edge to it because it's a knockout competition." Reaching the semi-final would give "everyone a lift" at Rugby Park and can act as a "catalyst to try and kick on from it". McCann wants to reward the fans and Killie owner with a trip to Hampden, saying: "We've had wonderful support since we've come into the club and I do feel the boys have got so much to offer this season. To get to the semi-final would be magic for our fans, magic for Billy Bowie and all the board, but more importantly for me right now it's magic for the boys downstairs in the dressing room because they're working so hard daily to try and get themselves into a groove where they're gaining points that we know we're capable of." McCann expect a reaction from Aberdeen after criticism from Dons fans in the wake of last Saturday's draw, but Killie have a "laser focus" on victory. The Old Firm meeting in the quarter-finals opens things up: "It's obvious because they're the two big guys in the competition with their wealth and experience at winning things. Clearly when they beat each other it's a chance for everyone else to see a route to the last stages." Killie's first league clean sheet last weekend was "a good starting point" and McCann adds: "I just felt structurally we were in a good place. I thought we still carried a threat without having that final bit of gloss on it." On supporters' disappointment with Killie's poor league start, McCann says: "My goal here when I came in was to stabilise things with Billy Dodds coming in and settling down the squad and avoiding relegation. Of course we've had to adjust our sights in many aspects because of the amount of funding that's gone into training facilities to safeguard the club's future." He adds that a "clear objective" is to provide entertaining football for the fans: "We've been working hard at that and the results haven't been up to standard in what we expect and what we want. The fans have been rightly disappointed but hopefully with the result on Saturday and it's just a point, it's only a point, but there's a lot to take from the performance."