Away-day specialists do not fear Glasgow

Aberdeen boss Derek Mcinnes insists they have no reason to fear back-to-back trips to Glasgow.

The Dons face Celtic today and victory would give them eight wins in a row on the road, breaking a 48-year-old club record.

A Scottish Cup replay with Rangers awaits at Ibrox on Tuesday and, having already won in Govan and at Hampden this season as well as Parkhead last May, Glasgow is not the no-go zone it once was for the Dons.

Mcinnes said: “I think both games will lend itself to good atmospheres.

“There’s plenty on it which will bring that best out in the players. It seems to be the case already with the players and their away form. We’ve been very consistent and having won in Glasgow in the last calendar year at both venues, we can go in with plenty confidence.

“Each game is different and in the first one we need to get the balance right between attacking and defending against a good Celtic team. Although they’re under a different manager with little, subtle differences, they’ve still got a very strong squad of players.”

The Aberdeen manager also reflected on the series of off-field incidents that have blighted Scottish football in recent weeks, insisting clubs need to do more to help stop the spate of crowd-related trouble.

A series of high-profile incidents have dominated headlines, from managers being targeted with coins, Scott Sinclair having a half-empty Buckfast bottle thrown at him from a Hibernian fan and Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke being on the receiving end of sectarian abuse.

Mcinnes said: “I still think there’s an element of people – at most clubs – who come to games with the intention of causing bother. They pay their money and think they can act in any way they like. They can’t.

“In the street, I’m sure if people shout abuse, throw coins and punches then it’s acted upon.

“Some actually glorify how they act and it’s seen as banter or a carry-on.

“It’s a disappointment in this modern day that people are videoing themselves (doing it) on social media.

“It’s a sad course of events where we’re giving them the coverage that a lot of them will enjoy. But we need to highlight this behaviour and there’s been too many of these off- field incidents.”

Dons boss Derek Mcinnes.