Derek McInnes says beating Rangers would be the perfect way for Aberdeen to put an end to their poor form at Pittodrie.
The Dons have become a soft target in the Granite City after mustering just one win in their last seven home games.
That came against Queen of the South in the last round of the William Hill Scottish Cup and it is now Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox side who stand in their way on Sunday as the Reds look to reach their fifth semi-final in the last three years.
Manager McInnes knows the critics will be waiting to pounce if his side fail to perform on home soil once again but said: “It would be a great answer to the criticism if we can get a win.
“There’s nothing wrong with people questioning if we can handle the pressure and I’m used to it. We’ve handled big games before.
“It’s probably the first time in my time here that you could aim at us the home form being a bit stuttering and not as convincing as we wanted it to be.
“The trade-off for that is the away form has been really good and it’s helped matters. There’s no doubting if we’re honest we’ve got to make sure we’re doing better at home and there’s no better game to go get a win than on Sunday.
“We’re keen to win the cup and it’s not just the next game, but there’ obviously a lot more made of it because it’s Rangers. You’re going to have to face good teams to get to a final and we’ve got a chance to put a good team out and show we’re a good team ourselves.
“We’re not really thinking too much about last Wednesday and we’re just thinking about the game. It’ll take care of itself in terms of the build-up, the excitement and the anticipation. My players will show they’re ready on Sunday.”
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