Time to get up and Joe
Lewis tells Dons they must now finish the season strongly in league and cup
Aberdeen skipper Lewis wants big finish to season
JOE LEWIS knows this vital win means third place and the Scottish Cup are both still very much up for grabs for incoming Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass.
It will be a case of the glass being half full when the new boss takes over at Pittodrie this week.
The skipper is looking forward to the former Atlanta United boss, who comes out of quarantine, and assistant Allan Russell getting started ahead of Sunday’s home Scottish Cup clash with Livingston.
Keeper Lewis said: “There’s loads to play for. Third place is a big ask but we believe that’s there for us.
“We know we need to step it up a gear and continue to improve but we’ve got the Scottish Cup as well.
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Livingston took a sore one against Celtic and they’ll be looking to bounce back and we know what they can do and what they’re capable of.
“The result over St Johnstone will help us going into that last bit of the season.”
Glass will have to say a big thank you to interim boss Paul Sheerin and his assistants Barry Robson and Neil Simpson for getting them past Dumbarton in the last round then seeing off Saints in the race for third.
The captain has already spoken to Glass. Lewis added: “Yeah, I’ve had a couple of chats with him. He’s looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to coming in.
“He’ll have Russell coming in as well to help him but I can’t speak highly enough of Paul Sheerin. He’s left it in a good state with two wins in the last two games.”
Aberdeen have struggled for goals in recent months but have shown that one has been enough for the last two wins at Dumbarton and in Perth.
Lewis and his defence have continued to provide a solid base and that proved to be the case again.
The Dons were second best in the first period and lucky to go in level at the break. Tommie Hoban blocked Glenn Middleton’s netbound volley then Dean Campbell had to make a saving tackle on Craig Conway.
Chris Kane fired another chance over while Aberdeen struggled to offer much in the final third.
Credit to Sheerin, Aberdeen came
ABERDEEN SCOTT BURNS AT McDIARMID PARK
out after the break and looked a lot more threatening. Matty Kennedy sent Jonny Hayes away, he was tackled by Shaun Rooney but it fell back to the Irishman to put the ball in.
Saints did come close to a leveller. Rooney hit the bar with a header and Lewis kept out Ali McCann.
Lewis said: “It was a huge win for so many reasons. Obviously we’re still fighting for third place and trying to put as much pressure on Hibs as we can. But it was also important for the all round confidence of the team.
“Although it was only a 1-0 win, and some of the play was a bit edgy at times, a lot of it was really good and I’m sure the manager will be pleased with the result. We’re all looking forward to a good week with him.”
Aberdeen’s philosophy is to develop young players and there were six graduates in the weekend team – at different ends of the playing spectrum. Jack MacKenzie, Ethan Ross, Calvin Ramsay, Connor McLennan, Dean Campbell and veteran Andrew Considine were all involved.
Lewis said: “We’ve got a lot of young players. I think we had six academy graduates involved against St Johnstone – Andy doesn’t count – but the other five certainly do.
“You look at Dean and Connor especially, you forget how young they are because they’ve been around for quite a while. Jack MacKenzie has been fantastic. “For them to take everything on board that’s been asked and play away from home – on a terrible pitch – the way that they have been asked to, playing out from the back, taking risks and trying to draw them onto us to then get past the press and eliminate some of their players, to do that shows a lot of character and that’s fantastic for the club going forward.”