Rangers head to Hampden on Saturday - where Aberdeen await in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup - and McInnes is hoping to get the better of his old club.

Rangers have won three trophies since 2012 and have finished the last two seasons without any silverware.

McInnes, who took charge in June, is the latest manager charged with turning around that poor return and has the chance to make his mark, having defeated Celtic 3-0 in the quarter-finals at Ibrox.

"To get the first trophy would be so important, reinforcing confidence, reinforcing belief," the Rangers boss said.

"Traditionally, semi-finals can be fraught with a lot of nerves and tension and sometimes they're not the best games, because of what's at stake."

Aberdeen's poor form makes Rangers strong favourites to progress to December's final against either Hearts or Hibernian.

However, Dons boss Stephen Robinson did lift the trophy last term when in charge of St Mirren, and McInnes is wary of their opponents' ability to perform in a one-off game.

"They've got a good, experienced manager in Robbo and they've got some good players, experienced players, in Aberdeen and they'll be relishing the opportunity as well," McInnes added.

"People might view us as favourites for it and I understand that but we've' still got a game to win and Aberdeen are capable of a big performance.

"I'm just concentrating on us, if we get to our levels then hopefully it's going to be enough to win the game but a strong 90-minute performance is going to be required, I feel."