Aberdeen skipper Graeme Shinnie admits there is no point travelling to Hampden if they deliver the performance that earned a 3-0 defeat at Motherwell.
The Dons endured the worst possible build-up to the Betfred Cup final against Celtic as a four-match winning run came to a juddering halt at Fir Park.
Aberdeen gifted Danny Johnson a 25th-minute opener after a poor short corner routine ultimately left the striker one on one with Shay Logan. The striker headed home from a corner five minutes later and David Turnbull netted his third goal in four matches in the second half.
Shinnie admitted their performance was "not good enough all over the pitch" and stressed the need to iron out the problems before their trip to Hampden next Sunday.
The midfielder told RedTV: "I go on all the time about trying to build on clean sheets and good defensive performances and we gifted goals and it wasn't good enough right throughout the team.
"We need to be harsh on each other, especially after games like that and with a game like next week coming up. It's not good enough. We will deal with it again on Monday as well and go over it and make sure we don't have a recurrence next week.
"We need to bounce back next week. Hopefully we can't be as bad as we were. But we need to evaluate it and make sure it doesn't happen, have a good training week, and look to really bounce back and put on a lot better performance in a cup final.
"If we play anywhere near like we did there, then there's no point even turning up.
"We'll have a tough week in terms of getting back to basics and having a good look in the mirror, and then we'll go again next week."
Mark Gillespie dedicated the three points to fellow goalkeeper Trevor Carson, who began a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines after being hospitalised by deep vein thrombosis.
Gillespie delivered a confident performance and is yet to concede a goal in 240 minutes of football for the club.
"First of all I have got wish Trevor a speedy recovery and all the best to him," the 26-year-old former Carlisle and Walsall player told the club's media team.
"Difficult circumstances to come in for the team. We have worked together all season and I'm sure he is delighted for the lads. First and foremost I hope he gets better soon.
"And as for the game, the lads put it in and that's for him as well."
Motherwell showed the perfect response to their 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Rangers.
"It's a great win and we have to go forward from there," Gillespie said. "It's been a difficult few weeks for the club but the lads reacted and at times made my job very easy, so credit to them.
"Coming in with potentially a long-term thing like that, it means you don't have to rush into the game and impress if you only have one game to play.
"I could just let the game come to me and it helped relax me. I was pleased with how I did but everybody put in a top, top performance."
