Graeme Shinnie has revealed that he knew Neil Warnock would be leaving Aberdeen following their Scottish Cup tie against Kilmarnock.

The Dons skipper admits the 75-year-old called a meeting with him on Friday, where he told him about his intentions to step aside after just 32 days in the post, however, the majority of his teammates were kept in the dark until after the 3-1 victory over the Rugby Park outfit.

So, while it came as a shock to most, Shinnie was not one of those, as he thanked Warnock for his efforts.

“I had a bit of inside knowledge so it wasn’t a huge shock to me,” the 32-year-old revealed. “I have had a good relationship with him and he’s always been open with me.

“I have been close with him and in here he’s always leaned on me as the captain.

“Not everyone knew because we had an important game, so a lot of the boys found out afterward.

“He spoke to me on Friday about what was happening but I don’t want to go into it further because it was a private conversation.

“We will now have a new manager coming in when he comes in and we’ll deal with it.

“So we thank Neil and wish him well, now we have to move on.

“I don’t know what’s happening, I’ve heard they want someone in imminently - which is the obvious thing to do.

“That would bring a bit of stability back because the league form hasn’t been good enough and we could do with stabilising things.

“There’s still a lot to play for this season, we have a semi-final coming up now too, so I’m sure the club will have a plan in place for going forward.

“When a manager leaves and someone comes in, it’s a fresh start for everyone and anything can happen.

“So that tends to bring a fresh buzz around the place and we have to bring positivity around the place.

“The football side of things needs stability because the infrastructure side of things is thriving.

“The commercial side and all other parts are doing well, it’s just the football side.

“And that’s on us because we’ve not been good enough in the league so now we have to end the season as strongly as we can."

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Shinnie received a late booking for remonstrating with referee John Beaton towards the end of the quarter-final encounter. Fraser Murray looked to have fouled the midfielder, however, no foul was given, sparking an angry reaction.

That yellow card means he will miss the semi-final, with Aberdeen due to discover their last-four opponents this evening after Morton’s clash against Hearts.

He fumed: “I will miss the semi-final now, which I’m gutted about because I thought it was a foul on me beforehand.

“I put it through the guy’s legs and he’s absolutely wiped me out. How that can’t be seen as a foul I don’t know.

“He told me they looked at it through VAR and didn’t think it was a foul.

“It’s devastating but I’m sure the ref would say I should shut my mouth.

“I am someone who likes to moan at the refs a lot, but I’m not verbally abusive and I don’t swear.

“I get a lot of soft fouls but in that one I was completely wiped out, so I was frustrated on the back of not getting that decision.

“I think it’s a bit easy to book someone. I think if he’d calmly explained to me his decision, I probably still wouldn’t have agreed with it, but you’d take it better.

“I think his problem was the way I ran towards him, which is understandable, but I think he’s also got to realise he’s missed one of the clearest fouls you’ll see.”