Dons must regain their composure – McInnes

Lacklustre second half against Saints left Dons boss frustrated

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has warned his players to cut out the selfinflicted goals which are costing them dear.

The Dons let two points slip at Pittodrie on Saturday as St Johnstone came from a goal down to earn a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

For the Aberdeen boss watching his side go from being in charge of proceedings to losing their control of the game was a scenario he has grown weary of and he has urged his players to regain their composure.

He said: “Saturday was self-inflicted and all too familiar of last season. We scored a good goal, had plenty crosses in the box and played at a good tempo. It looked like it was only going to go one way until the equaliser.

“We allow St Johnstone to counter on us, when we didn’t need to. We allow the cross to come in when we shouldn’t have, and we allowed O’Halloran too much space and we allowed a weak shot to get into the net.

“A cumulation of all of these things have given St Johnstone the equaliser.

“For that type of goal to be lost isn’t good enough.

The Dons boss added: “From there the second half was not good enough. We tried to make changes to alter the flow and I don’t think the subs made any real change.

“We never had any real confidence or control in the second half. Everything was a bit too hurried when there was no real need. We need to find more composure.”

The dropped points at home compounded a frustrating day for the Dons where Jon Gallagher, Craig Bryson and Funso Ojo all limped off with injuries.

Gallagher was sent for an X-ray on a suspected broken leg but scans have shown there is no break. Bryson and Ojo also suffered ankle and hamstring injuries and all three are expected to miss Saturday’s trip to Livingston.

There has been some good news for the Dons boss, however, with midfielder Stephen Gleeson, who suffered a knee injury in pre-season, on the road to recovery.

McInnes said: “Stephen is back running again and is thankfully coming through his injury problems.”

Picture: SNS.