The centre-back raised eyebrows with his comments after the last-gasp draw with Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday

Dan Neil is adamant Rangers don’t have a character flaw after spilling points again at Tynecastle - and is confident they will produce a show of proper personality at Hampden

The Ibrox skipper was responding to comments made by defender Olwethu Makhanya after the South African star’s last-minute goal rescued a 2-2 draw away to Hearts on Wednesday night.

The centre-back claimed Derek McInnes team had “lacked character” and claimed the Jambos had shown more “desire” than the Light Blues at the start of the second half as they roared ahead with two goals from Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller. But captain Neil shrugged off those words as he vowed Gers will respond to the groans in Gorgie by storming Mount Florida as they seek to topple Aberdeen and claim a place in the Premier Sports Cup final.

Asked if he’d spoken to Makhanya, the midfielder said: "I don't think I've addressed it so much. Listen, it was an emotional game. Obviously Maka has scored late in the game and we could have won it at the end. It definitely wasn't a lack of character. You've seen multiple times in the season the character this squad has.

"We're trying to improve every single day, so I think it was just the emotions of the game why he's come out with that comment. There's no doubt about the character in this team. Listen, the Hearts match is done now. All we can do is focus on the game coming up on Saturday.

"The full focus has been on that and [winning trophies] is a big reason why I have come here. But to have any chance, we have to win the game on Saturday and that's what we're focusing on. Is this game a good test of the team’s mentality? Definitely. It's a completely different occasion and feeling to this game.

"It's certainly not going to be an easy game and Aberdeen want to get to the final just as we do. If you want to win silverware, these are the games you have to get a result in. We'll prepare as best we can.”

Neil accepted his team didn’t deal with the intensity of Wouter Vrancken’s side at times. But he’s confident his team will be ready to for their dust-up with the Dons.

He said: "I totally agree about the duels and that's something we spoke about at half-time, that we weren't doing well enough. We didn't in the first 15 minutes of the second half either and it's a massive part of the game.

"Listen, it's not going to be perfect every single game but we have to hold ourselves accountable for that. It's massive in every game, not just a semi-final. Over the last few weeks, it's something we've been really good at, which has seen our results turn, since Aberdeen away. The duels we've won on this run has been brilliant and against Hearts, we didn't win enough. But we managed to get ourselves back in that one and we have to keep on top of that."

Rangers are seeking to take a huge step towards lifting their first trophy since Philippe Clement’s side won the League Cup in 2023. And Neil believes victory this weekend could propel the Light Blues onto success elsewhere.

"It's really important for momentum,” he explained. "Any time you have a chance to potentially get your hands on silverware, it's a chance you have to take. If you talk about there not being many medals in the changing room, but every single player in the world who has won something hadn't before at some point.

"It's getting over that hurdle of getting it and we've got a really good chance of doing that early in the season. That could be a springboard and keep momentum in our favour. But we have to get through Saturday's game before we even think about silverware.”

Stephen Robinson’s Reds will head for Glasgow on the back of a miserable run that’s left the manager fighting to keep his job. But Neil isn’t reading anything into the fact Aberdeen have lost three of their last four games.

He said: “Any team can be dangerous on their day. They've got good players. At their place it was a really tough game. We walked away with the three points, but they definitely gave as good as they got that day. It's a bit of a one-off game, because league form goes out the window. It's a big chance for them to get into a final too, so league form doesn't come into it. We have to respect their qualities."