ANDREW McNeil admits Aberdeen are heavy favourites for Saturday’s Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden — but says a solid Ton game plan could cause some anxiety for the Dons.

The Morton keeper insists his side will have to hold out in the early stages of the tie against what is expected to be an early barrage of attacks from Aberdeen — but he insists if the Ton can do that, they stand a chance.

He told the Tele: “I wouldn’t imagine that Aberdeen would go into the game feeling particularly anxious, and I’m not being disrespectful when I say that. We’ve got to start the game well and I think they’ll respect us, but they’ll be growing in confidence because they’ve got a good chance of qualifying for the final.

“If we can go 10-25 minutes, play well, be defensively sound and cause them a few problems up front I think that could change. I think it could make them a bit nervous or put them on the back foot so it’s all about how we perform and go about our business.”

Ton dismantled Queen of the South 5-0 in Dumfries at the weekend, and McNeil reckons their shock result stands them in good stead for the cup tie this week.

He said: “It was maybe a surprise to a lot of people from the outside looking in, but we’ve been playing really well recently. 

“We really took the game to them [Queens], pressed them high and it was a fantastic day.”

The stopper missed the game against the Doonhamers after going off against Raith Rovers at Cappielow in their last home outing — when Rovers striker Mark Stewart caught him with a trailing boot. But McNeil insists he’s fighting fit and is ready for Saturday — should he be called upon by boss Jim Duffy.

He concluded: “I’m fine. My eye has healed, it was a wee bit bloodshot but I don’t have any problems with my vision and I think it looked worse than it actually was. There was a lot of blood and stitches. In terms of damage though, my nose and cheek were fine and I wasn’t concussed, so I got away with it.”