Stephen Glass has told his players to rise to the expectations of the Aberdeen fans and disappoint anyone who is anticipating a cup shock in Kirkcaldy.
The Dons face Raith Rovers in the second round of the Premier Sports Cup at noon on Sunday with the sponsors choosing the Stark’s Park encounter as one of their live televised picks.
John McGlynn’s side have only taken one point from their opening two cinch Championship games – despite leading 4-0 against Hamilton in their opener.
But they topped their section in the League Cup group stages and are among the promotion favourites.
The Dons will travel to Fife fresh from reaching the Europa Conference League play-offs with victory over Breidablik and have a trip to Azerbaijan next week to face Qarabag.
But Glass was brought in to Pittodrie with cup success very much on his to-do list and the Dons boss has told his side they must juggle their domestic and European demands.
“We go to Raith on Sunday equally determined to win that game,” he said on the club’s official website.
“They’re well coached, a good team, but we feel we can go there and win.
“We know it’s the early game on TV for a reason, people are thinking they have a big opportunity to knock us out, so we’re relishing another tough challenge.
“The expectation is there to win games, that’s why players come to play for this football club, and that’s what we will look to do on Sunday.”
‘The pure simplicity of the way Slot has managed the squad is probably the biggest thing I could say about him. It’s not broken, so let’s get on with it’: Liverpool legend full of admiration for Jurgen Klopp's successor at Anfield
‘I trained at Spurs and thought they’d give me a chance. But I received a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t think I was good enough – I was gutted’: How Tottenham missed out on signing Wales legend John Toshack
