WE’RE NOT DON YET
Del’s men 8 points off title pace They’ve lost 8 in a row to Celts But Reds forward Stewart insists...
GREG STEWART admits Celtic’s eight-point gap on Aberdeen is a lead unlikely to be breached.
The on-loan Dons midfielder is adamant his side won’t concede anything to the champions despite another defeat on Saturday to the Hoops which further indicates this season will be a battle to be best of the rest.
Derek McInnes’s men may count themselves unlucky to exit Parkhead with nothing more than an increased points deficit but Stewart insists there’s still a glimmer of hope in the title race ahead of tomorrow night’s clash with Partick Thistle.
He said: “Realistically, probably second is what we’re aiming for but you never know. If Celtic slip up and we keep winning you never know.
“I wouldn’t say the result justified the performance. It was a sore one. Celtic started well in the first 10 minutes then we took the ascendancy in the next 20-25 minutes. We came into our own game, started pressing well and believing we could take something from it – which you should.
“When you’re in the ascendancy against Celtic you need to score. We just needed that wee bit of luck which never came. The goal just before half-time was a sore one and really unlucky for us but if you don’t shoot you don’t score.
“It was so disappointing to be 1-0 down but at half-time we said we just had to keep doing what we’d been doing. We didn’t get going second half as quickly as we could have.
“We had a couple of chances. Kenny McLean’s shot just deflected wide then big Kari Arnason from the corner is a chance. We pushed to get a goal but the second one was a sucker punch.”
Brendan Rodgers and his players have developed a monopoly over Aberdeen as it’s now eight games without a win over the Hoops since the Irishman’s arrival in Glasgow. But Stewart is convinced it’s a stat that doesn’t tell the full story.
He said: “Someone looking from outside might think it was an easy win. We didn’t and probably people here didn’t think that either, even Celtic fans. But we were beaten and just have to move on.
“It’s frustrating when you deserve something from it. When you play poorly you just put up your hand and say okay. In the home game against Celtic only one team deserved to win but on Saturday it just wasn’t to be and put us eight points behind. But hopefully we can go into the break upbeat and take maximum points.”
Celtic have dropped more points in the league than they shipped in the entirety of last season and Stewart admits the Dons tried to deploy a similar tactic to Hearts which earned the Jambos a famous win the previous weekend. He said: “We spoke about it. Hearts did well against them and we felt if we pressed them and imposed our game on them we could have an effect. But, fair play to Celtic, it wasn’t to be. We just have to be upbeat about the first half and spells in the second half.
“You hope somebody can take points off Celtic and you just need to keep on beating the other teams.”
The on-loan Birmingham man has plenty of reasons to be positive ahead of a well-earned winter break and admits he’s relishing the chance to put his feet up after games against Partick and Hearts.
He said: “I was down south last season so I’ve never had the pleasure of the winter break so I’m looking forward to it. We’re a new team and have taken time to gel but we’ve started to show what we’re capable of over the last three or four games.”