KEEP CALM AND HAVE A CARRY-ON
McInnes glad to have his fun trio back in training
Having them all out at same time along with Dylan has not been needed by us DEREK McINNES BEMOANS LOSS OF CRUCIAL PLAYERS
ABERDEEN have welcomed back their trio who were KO’d by Covid and Derek McInnes is happy to see them return - as much for their ‘carry-on’ as for their ability. Lewis Ferguson and Connor McLennan will be available for the league clash with St Mirren tomorrow after being sidelined as close contacts of players who tested positive for coronavirus while on Scotland Under-21 duty a fortnight ago. Team-mate Ross McCrorie was one of those who tested positive and while he is not yet able to play, he too is back in training. McInnes admits all three have lifted the mood in the Pittodrie camp after a tough week that saw them lose at Ibrox and draw at Hamilton, before crashing out of the Betfred Cup against Saints. McInnes said: “Ferguson and McLennan come back in which is great for us. “McCrorie is back in the building now, doing his work. “He’s got return to play protocols to get through but just getting him in the building was great.
“Ferguson, McCrorie and Connor are very popular boys among that age group.
“They’re very vocal and while they’re very professional and very important, they can also be full of carry-on, which is important.
“They are popular with their team-mates so we’ve missed them and to get them all back in the building this week has been good.”
The Aberdeen boss admitted the loss of Ferguson and McCrorie from his engine room has been huge over the past three games and he revealed the duo and McLennan have been frustrated during their period of isolation.
He added: “They’ve had to sit and kick their heels really.
“Lewis and Connor had that added frustration of the negative tests and not being able to train and play.
“They’ve made do in a bad situation, a tough situation, by getting the treadmills in and doing their work. The sports scientists have kept in touch with them and spoke to them throughout that.
“They’re training to play and getting in amongst their team-mates again.
“It’s good that they’re out of that and can concentrate on what they’re good at.
“I know the importance of Ferguson and McCrorie to my team. Ferguson has done it for two-and-a-half seasons.
“He’s been a mainstay and my go-to guy all the time, a guy I’ve trusted from a young age.
“He has felt absolutely fine and has had to sit back and had a real dose of frustration that he’s not been able to do what he normally does.
“He’s a first pick for me, he plays every game. He’s such an important player.
“Connor is similar. He’s very disappointed. Both lads have missed their football, we’ve missed them, and it’s great to get them back in.
“There’s a competitiveness and willingness to win in them.
“McCrorie has shown that in his spell with us as well. It’s unusual to have so many out in the same area, with Dylan McGeouch as well.
“Dylan’s a good competitor. He plays the game in a different way but the three of them being out at the same time has not been needed.”
The Dons boss is adamant his side are desperate to atone for last week’s cup defeat in Paisley and he’s looking for a much-improved performance.
McInnes said: “We got exactly what we deserved, although it was a mistake which cost us in the end.
“We didn’t deserve to go through the tie.
“St Mirren were the better team so off the back of a result like that you just want to play the next game as quickly as possible. The fact that we need to go back down there again, we know what to expect.
“St Mirren are probably not going to change too much.
“We need to try to do better and implement what we want to do in the game.
“What we want to do is be the team we’ve been for the majority of the season. If we can do that, we give ourselves a far better chance of winning.
“We have a chance to go level with Celtic on Saturday and stay third in the league but we are going to have to be vastly improved from last week and do so much better.”