Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media as Rangers prepare for the Premiership game at St Mirren on Saturday (20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines:

• McInnes says it his job to "give supporters a team they can believe in" and reaching the League Cup final against Hibs, plus hopefully winning it, "validates what we're trying to do". But he knows "questions will be asked" if Rangers lose the final.

• On a "great" first Scotland call-up for James Penrice, the Ibrox boss says: "No real surprise but nonetheless to see his reaction, that's the way it should be. He deserves it, hopefully he can get on the pitch and ideally come back with a couple of caps."

• McInnes is "hopeful" Penrice, currently on loan from AEK Athens, can be signed on a permanent deal: "I think there's a lot of goodwill all round to try for that and it's something we'd like to do. The conversations I've had with Jim [Gillespie] and the board has been along those lines and hopefully we can make that permanent."

• He adds on Penrice: "What he's done from the first minute is play with so much enthusiasm. He really wants to be here, plays properly, brings quality but also brings energy and the fans take to him because of how he performs and how much he wants to win."

• The cup final on 13 December is a "good carrot" for players making their way back from injury. Daisuke Yokota should return by the end of the month and Ross McCrorie will be ready next week. Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland "will probably both look to be on the pitch the first week of December" but still have a "few hurdles to overcome".

• McInnes adds on Devlin and Shankland: "The fact it's a cup final doesn't do them any harm in terms of pushing them on."

• Badredine Bouanani is ill but should be fine for Saturday's match. Emmanuel Fernandez's twisted ankle was a "bit of a mess" after Saturday's semi-final win but the defender is due to train on Thursday and is expected to be fit for Saturday.

• On 20-year-old winger Findlay Curtis' lack of starts this season, McInnes cites strong competition in wide areas and says: "I'm not here to say to him be patient, because I want him to be in a hurry to get more starts. I believe he is well on his way to being a good Rangers player. And hopefully this season he can get the minutes that he's happy with, but we're certainly happy with a lot of his contributions."

• Ryan Naderi, who scored the semi-final winner, is "becoming more confident" now he's netting more regularly and has benefitted from playing for the Czech Republic.

• McInnes adds: "And even when he's not his best, he's a handful and he knocks his pan in, which is a good starting point for any player."

• On the 50/50 ticket split with Hibs for the final, McInnes says: "Obviously there's going to be a lot of disappointed Rangers fans because it's going to be difficult to satisfy everybody. But it is what it is. We've got to deal with it."

• On St Mirren, McInnes says Rangers' two games against them this season have been different types but both "wide open" and Craig McLeish's side have a lot of pace and varied threats.