Dons face judgment call in race for runners-up spot

Derek McInnes admits he will have one ear glued to events at Easter Road as Aberdeen look to hold off Rangers’ late push for second spot.

The Ibrox side can snatch the runners-up position in the Ladbrokes Premiership if they better Aberdeen’s result at Celtic Park when they face final-day opponents Hibernian tomorrow.

The Dons have lost 10 games in a row to Brendan Rodgers’ allconquering Hoops but McInnes admits he may have to throw caution to the wind if he gets bad news from Leith.

“I think we will have to be mindful, maybe even at half-time, of what the score is as it might affect what we have to do,” he said. “We might need to go chase the result.

“If Rangers are winning then we have to go and win too. If the game is in the balance then there might be a point where we have to go for it. But we are going down there with the intention of having to win the game – that’s the way I’m feeling.

“I don’t want to be dependant on Hibs beating Rangers. I want to be dependant on my own team getting what we need.”

Hibs’ defeat to Hearts on Wednesday has guaranteed Aberdeen another Europa League ticket but McInnes does not want his side thinking their work is done for the season.

He said: “I’m delighted we’re back into Europe, as that was something very important to us, and it’s brilliant to have achieved that for the fifth season in a row. But finishing second is what we’ve been looking at for a while and it’s very important to us.

“Hopefully the performance of the team will illustrate how important it is to myself and everybody else at the club.”