WE MUST KNUCKLE DOWN AND DELIVER
McInnes demands victory
IN THE wake of last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Ross County, two crudely drawn banners appeared outside Pittodrie demanding the removal of Derek McInnes.
But while the Aberdeen boss believes any fan criticism of his team’s dismal Dingwall display is valid, he insists the overall bigger picture at the club remains bright.
Arriving in the Granite City when Aberdeen were regularly in relegation danger, expectations levels have been raised over the past eight years.
The latest murmurs of discontent come with his Dons sitting in fourth place in the Premiership, one point behind Hibs but with two games in hand.
But McInnes has backed his squad to bounce back and prove to their critics over the remainder of the season that they are a good side.
‘I totally understand criticism,’ he said. ‘I expect it and I’m used to it. It was a horrible afternoon for us against Ross County last weekend.
‘But even after selling Scott McKenna for a club-record fee, our defensive record has been really good. We have been really strong. But on Saturday, we weren’t. Results like Saturday have been, by and large, very rare but we do deserve criticism for that result. There’s no doubt about it.
‘It was a poor performance — but we are not a poor team. The fact we are sitting where we are in the league with a couple of games in hand shows we are not as bad as some people think. It’s still up to us to improve on that, though.
‘If we win our games in hand, we are in third spot. We are in and around Livingston and Hibs, who have had plenty of plaudits this season. We are judged on previous campaigns and I believe we will show our strength between now and the end of the season.
‘Results like last Saturday can happen but you want to keep them to a minimum and see a response. We have had five league defeats this season. Three of them were against a Rangers team that’s undefeated and the other two were really disappointing afternoons (against Motherwell and Ross County).
‘Now we have to knuckle down, on an unbeaten run and show we are a good side.’
McInnes urged his players to shrug off any outside noise as they aim to bounce back from a run of a draw and two losses, the latter that 4-1 reverse to a County side that began last Saturday bottom of the table.
‘When we have a bad day, we all suffer,’ he said. ‘But you try and galvanise them. We have a spirit in us. We are well aware that, when you work for Aberdeen, the criticism can be stinging at times.
‘The players have to deal with that. Sometimes the praise can be overboard as well when things are going well. But that’s just the way it is. You just have to retain a perspective, knuckle down, work hard and focus on what we can do better. There’s loads we can do better but there’s also a lot we are doing right.
‘When you get to January, you maybe look for answers outwith the club (in the transfer window) but we know we can’t do that this season and we will work with what we have in the building.
‘I’ve got full faith in the squad that we can do what we need to do through our league campaign and hopefully be in a good vein of form when the Scottish Cup comes around. We will stay calm and work hard and get on with it.’
Tomorrow, McInnes will welcome an old friend in Graham Alexander to Pittodrie but he will be wary of his Motherwell side.
The new Fir Park manager has coaxed two strong performances out of the Steelmen, drawing 1-1 with St Mirren and Rangers, since taking over from Stephen Robinson.
‘I’ve known Graham Alexander a long while,’ said McInnes. ‘I’ve played against him down south and I’ve been in Scotland squads with him as well — although he got on the pitch a lot more than me.
‘It’s good to see him in Scottish football. When you take over a team towards the bottom of the table, the first job is to make them hard to beat. They had a good shape about them against Rangers. They lost a really soft penalty at St Mirren — and we know how that feels — which was disappointing for them.
‘But there’s been two really good performances since he came in the door.’
Meanwhile, Motherwell leftback Jake Carroll has extended his Fir Park contract until the summer of 2023. The 29-year-old recently returned from a ten-month absence following a ruptured Achilles tendon.
He told Motherwell’s official website: ‘My first season went brilliantly until the injury, and the club have been brilliant with me in getting me back to full fitness.
‘Now I’m fit and back in the team, I’m keen to kick on again.’
The Steelmen last night also signed striker Harry Smith on loan from Northampton Town for the rest of the season.