McINNES IS BANKING ON FUNDS FOR NEW BLOOD

ABERDEEN chairman Stewart Milne used the powers of persuasion to his advantage when he convinced Derek McInnes his future lay at Pittodrie instead of Ibrox.

Now it’s the manager’s turn to do the persuading — as he seeks the transfer cash required to see off another Rangers challenge.

The pair will have further talks after tonight’s trip to St Johnstone, with McInnes set to discover what funds will be available to maintain the Dons’ position as Celtic’s closest rivals.

He insists that an increased budget played no part in the heart-to-heart with Milne that led to him turning down the chance to return to the club he served with distinction as a midfielder. However, McInnes will be hoping for an increase on the £850,000 outlay made available to him in the transfer market during his four-and-a-half years in charge.

That money helped to bring in Kenny McLean, Stevie May and Gary Mackay-Steven, with others arriving on free transfers and loan deals.

But McInnes hopes the purse strings can now be loosened further, particularly with attendances increasing and turnover up by £2million last season.

‘I am going to see him (Milne) on Thursday so here’s hoping, but there was nothing different said over the last period,’ admitted McInnes.

‘In terms of what we can do in January, we will find out then and we’ll assess the squad in the next few weeks and see if there is any willingness to rejig things.

‘There may well be one or two opportunities to manipulate the squad a bit and bring one or two in.

‘We brought over a hundred grand in for (Jayden) Stockley and over £1m in the deal for Jonny Hayes to Celtic, so there has been money brought in.

‘Some of that has been put back into the squad by paying money for Gary and Stevie as well as re-signing players for the long term, so it has been reinvested.

‘But we have brought some decent amounts of money in, attendances have been good, and we have had an upturn in the revenue.

‘It’s important we get as much value on the pitch as possible and hopefully maintain the standards we’ve set in the last few years. Hopefully we can have a good January transfer window and that can help us do exactly that.’

McInnes, who refused to comment on Milne’s assertion that he is due an apology from Rangers for the official statement which seemed to question his ambition in rejecting them, hopes his relationship with Niall McGinn will convince the Northern Ireland cap to return to Pittodrie after a dismal spell in South Korea.

The winger (below) is a free agent after being released by Gwangju but is recovering from a hernia operation.

Hibs and Hearts are also interested in signing the exCeltic star but McInnes is keen to get him back to Aberdeen. ‘Niall is someone we speak to regularly and we are well aware of his situation,’ said the Dons manager.

‘He’s just had his operation and is recovering well but we know free agents like him will have options.

‘Hopefully there is some encouragement from Niall to come back here and, if there is, hopefully we get the chance to work with him again.’

Meanwhile, St Johnstone striker Steven MacLean admits having feared his boss Tommy Wright would be in the opposition dugout when Aberdeen visit tonight.

Had McInnes gone to Rangers, veteran MacLean believes the Saints boss would have been an obvious choice as replacement. ‘Like everybody else, I thought Derek McInnes would be away to Rangers,’ he said. ‘So when I heard he was staying I was kind of shocked.

‘I thought we might have been facing our gaffer on Wednesday night and then Del on Saturday (when Saints play Rangers). ‘Our gaffer would have had a massive chance of getting the Aberdeen job.

‘So my initial thought when it came out Del was staying was: “Well, our gaffer will be staying, too”. ‘Aberdeen will be delighted he is staying — and so are we.’