Goalkeeper Joe spoke to RedTV after the win in Perth on Saturday:

“It was two very different halves for us against St Johnstone.

“In the first half, I thought we were brilliant and deserved the two-goal lead. A game away to St Johnstone is not going to be plain sailing for the full 90 minutes. They got their goal early in the second period which swayed the momentum of the game but we showed great character to defend well and withstand their attacking play. We came for the three points and we are delighted to finish the game by claiming the three points. That was the most important thing. It is a tough place to come.

“We showed some real quality to get the goals. The first especially was a brilliant goal from Ryan. I thought their keeper had made a great save but he could not quite get enough on it. Ryan has got that class. He is a top player and a real talent. He seems to glide across the ground and we are lucky to have him here. He has been a bit unlucky as we have a lot of strength in depth in that area. He has taken his chance today. I am sure he will have enjoyed that and he will look to getting some more minutes in the future to show his quality. It was nice to see him take his goal so well.

“I did not get a great view of the second one but the ball has landed up in the back of the net. When you put quality balls into the box things like that will happen. It was quite windy and the ball was swirling around a bit which did not help the defenders. If you ask the questions of defenders and you keep doing it then things like that will happen. It was not undeserved. I think 2-0 was the right scoreline at half time.

“The Rangers game last week was very disappointing. Everyone was gutted after the game. I know the fans were but the players were hurting as well. It was important that we showed what type of team we are and move on from that. A lot of people would have been looking to the St Johnstone game to see if we were able to bounce back after last week. If you look at the game we showed what we are all about – first half real quality and we deserved the two goals. Second half we had to show our resolve and charter after they got the penalty and we did that as well. We showed both sides of our game and that is pleasing going into a big match this week.

“We are going into the game in a positive frame of mind which is very important.

“It is great for the fans to go back to Hampden and it will be another good game I am sure. We want to come away with the win and get the final. That will be our main focus now. We will look at them this week. They are a good team so we will study them closely and we need to make sure we are on our game.

“The fact we have not played Hibs this season will not be a major issue. Our video analyst is brilliant and every game I go into I know the details of the opposition players. Greig Thomson has got some awards already for being one of the best around. That is a positive and that is part of being at a club like Aberdeen where things are done properly and no stone is left unturned by the management team. We will be fully aware of what they do and we will be ready.

“We will look at their strengths and weaknesses.

“I know Grant Holt from playing against him quite a few times. His family are in Norwich where I am from. He has great experience and he is a good goal scorer so he will be one to watch but they have got other players who are equally as capable of causing a threat and causing us some trouble.

“I have seen a couple of Hibs games on TV. They are a big club and they have got some quality players. But we will have confidence. There is no reason why we would not have confidence. If you look at how we have been playing as a whole and take away the mad five-minute spell last week, we are actually in great form and we need to keep that going and the positivity that we have got in the dressing room.

“I am aware the club have not won the Scottish Cup for a long time. It has been mentioned. I know the fans are very eager to do well in this competition and the players and management feel the same way. But all we can do is take each game as it comes. We are not even thinking about a potential final yet. We are just looking at a semi-final against Hibs and that is our main focus and we will do all we can to get another positive result.

“There has always been that feeling that we want to get back there after what happened in the League Cup final but you cannot not get to wrapped up in that, with the feelings of being desperate to get back there because you take your eye off the ball. Our focus will be on the Hibs players and making sure our players are at it. We need to recover well from the St Johnstone game and have a good weeks training.

“We are all looking forward to going back to Hampden.”