FAITH HEALER

McInnes insists Dons no longer have a hang-up about Old Firm

DEREK McINNES will unleash an Aberdeen team on Rangers today packed with believers after finding a fix for the club’s defeatist failings against Old Firm opposition.

The Pittodrie boss admits many of his players were ‘scarred’ by negative or nightmare experiences against Celtic and the Ibrox club before he set about mending a damaged mentality.

Fresh from two tumultuous home victories over the champions during last season’s title challenge, the Dons now host Rangers for the first time in five years.

And McInnes knows every player he sends into the hostile atmosphere will expect to beat Mark Warburton’s men, who are seeking a first Scottish Premiership win since last-minute success over Motherwell on August 20.

‘A lot of players had been scarred from playing Rangers and Celtic, taken sore ones and heavy scorelines,’ said McInnes. ‘Playing them was always synonymous with a bad result or not feeling good about themselves.

‘There were still too many in the dressing room who felt losing 1-0 to Celtic wasn’t the worst result — that 1-1 was a good day’s work, so we had to try to change that.

‘Some aren’t here now. Some have gained confidence from winning against Celtic. When you have opportunities to beat the Old Firm, you must take them.

‘I wanted to make sure that any time we played against them we had 11 players on the pitch who expected to win. We’ve shown that recently. We’ve still got work to do, but I’ve every confidence in the players.’