Everyone is giving us a real kicking...we’ve got to start punching back
DEREK McInnes has vowed that his Aberdeen players will come out swinging in response to the ‘humiliating’ experience of being thrashed at Ibrox.
And the Dons boss says both he and his team have had to be brutally honest about their failings as they seek to turn around the recent mini-slump responsible for a torrent of criticism from punters and pundits.
McInnes admits the Pittodrie men have been ‘damaged’ by a miserable week that saw them throw away a winning lead in their Betfred Cup defeat to Hearts before being embarrassed by Rangers in a 5-0 hammering.
But he insists the Reds are desperate to show fans a spirited response at home to Hibs tomorrow.
‘Everybody is giving us a kicking at the minute,’ he said ‘It’s important we throw a few punches back. We’ve got to demonstrate that we care. And not take things lying down. We’ve got to fight back.
‘The last couple of results have been hard to take and you have to be honest with yourself and the players — it was a humiliating experience. It’s how you respond that is key.’
McInnes was clearly deeply wounded by events in Govan. As much as he’s always prided himself on finding a way to inspire his team following painful setbacks, he would obviously prefer not to face that particular challenge too often.
Yes, he had players missing last weekend — eight first-team squad members, including five probable starters.
But any manager whose team suffers that kind of shellacking, no matter the circumstances, inevitably takes a hit to his reputation.
Maybe if they hadn’t conceded a stoppage-time equaliser at Tynecastle, before losing on penalties, things would have been different.
The promise of another semifinal at Hampden might have either deadened the blow of being thumped by their old foes at Ibrox — or even inspired a more competent performance.
‘The last two results have really
damaged us,’ said McInnes, now six-and-ahalf years into his tenure in the Granite City.
‘The performance was good against Hearts, despite the difficulties in selection.
‘We were two minutes away from getting the club into another semi. And that would have helped us going into the Rangers game.
‘But we’ve got to be honest with ourselves and everybody. We’ve asked the players to be honest with themselves.
‘We’ve spoken a lot this week about the need to show more aggression and physicality.
‘For us to bridge the gap in any game against Rangers, we’ve got to show more aggression, more energy. And we have to carry ourselves more confidently, show more personality.
‘Any time we’ve managed to beat a Rangers or a Celtic, I can see it in my team in the tunnel, even in the dressing room beforehand.
‘They transmit that confidence and it comes out in the performance.
‘I’m sure the players don’t feel great about themselves — none of us do.’
For Aberdeen fans, few things matter more than their team giving a good account of themselves against Rangers.
It’s a rivalry that runs deep in the modern history of Scottish football. One that threatened to seriously undermine Steven Gerrard’s first season as a manager — but now finds McInnes the target for severe criticism.
‘Saturday was so difficult,’ he said. ‘I felt as if I couldn’t stop the bleeding, watching what was happening.
‘I had eight players unavailable. All eight would have been stripped. That’s half your outfield players in the squad.
‘We had five who probably would have started, so that’s half your starting team unavailable.
‘We looked young and spooked at times. We certainly looked as if we were in need of some help out there.
‘It’s tough to see your team suffer like that. I want to make sure now that we have as many good days as possible. I want to keep days like that to a minimum.
‘Any time you’ve had a disappointment, work harder, give more. Keep trying to lift others. That’s my job.’
It’s clear that Monday morning’s team meeting wasn’t for the faint-hearted.
McInnes has learned through experience that the best way to cope with a bad loss is to let it all come out at the first opportunity.
‘It’s important to deal with what you’re feeling, first of all,’ he said. ‘Because the only way to feel better is by expressing it. You have to be honest, as a manager, about how you’re feeling.’ With Scott McKenna now pushing for a return from injury and Andrew Considine available for selection again, Aberdeen should at least be stronger — mentally as much as anything — for the visit of a Hibs side looking to prove their recent upturn in results is built on solid foundations. As for how the home support at Pittodrie respond to both the team and manager, McInnes is aware of how his personal stock has fallen among a section of the fanbase.
But he said: ‘The criticism has no bearing on me. Yes, I would rather people were speaking positively about my team. But I do think that showing the enthusiasm, believing in your team, working as I’ve worked for 32 years in football, good days and bad, is the key.
‘When you work for a club where there is demand, there is always more noise when you don’t meet the demand.
‘When you lose a couple of sore ones like we have in the last couple of games, you expect a level of criticism. That doesn’t affect what I do.
‘It’s the same when we go on winning runs and everybody is blowing smoke up your a***, saying: “Your team’s this and your team’s that and how good it is”.
‘It’s important we try to be balanced and get on with it. We’ve got the whole season ahead of us and we’ve just got to trust what we do.
‘We’ve worked a way for a certain period of time and we’ve always got to where we want to get to.
‘Ideally we’d like more trophies but, by and large, the consistency that every squad I’ve had has been very good.
‘You just have to get on with it. We can’t be bringing in transfers. The budget is spent.’