Anderson may have to wait longer for recall

ABERDEEN club captain Russell Anderson recognises that he may have to settle for a place on the substitutes’ bench when the Dons take on Hibernian in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden tomorrow.

The 33-year-old has made two appearances from the bench since rejoining the club after recovering from a hamstring injury but has so far failed to break up the established central defensive partnership of Andrew Considine and Mark Reynolds.

And Anderson anticipates Dons boss Craig Brown will continue with Considine and Reynolds at the back in the lunchtime kick-off against Hibs.

“I realise the players who have been playing regularly at the back have done very well recently,” Anderson said.

“I know he (Brown) could well look favourably upon that. I would have absolutely no arguments at all if he decided to go with the same back four.”

At Hearts on 31 March, Anderson came on for his second Dons debut, 15 years after his first and five after leaving for Sunderland in a £1million deal.

The former Scotland international, who returned to Pittodrie from Derby in January despite the hamstring injury, assumed the captain’s armband from Considine as soon as he entered the fray 14 minutes from time.

However, the defender says Brown has not given any hints over his team selection this week, despite his obvious high regard for Anderson.

Anderson added: “He hasn’t said one thing, which is no different to any other week. Everyone is in the same boat as me, waiting to find out what the team is.”

The Dons last won a trophy by winning the League Cup in November 1995 and Anderson hopes to go one step closer to ending the barren streak this weekend.

“I know how much everyone associated with the club wants the team to do well,” he added.

“It’s been a long time since we have had any sort of success.

“The cup competitions are the one realistic opportunity the club has got to get some silverware. Hopefully we can give them a result that they will be delighted about.”