McInnes calls on slack Dons to recapture their ruthless streak
DEREK McINNES bemoaned his Aberdeen side’s slackness and lack of composure last night as they lost ground on Celtic at the top of the Premiership and ruined a 13-game winning run against Kilmarnock that dated back more than four years.
The Dons started strongly and snatched the lead after just 10 minutes through Stevie May, but they lost their way as the game developed with McInnes conceding that the visitors more than deserved the point earned through Jordan Jones’ deflected equaliser three minutes into the second half.
This was the first match against Kilmarnock that McInnes had failed to win since taking over from Craig Brown in April 2013.
However, it was the lack of sharpness and ruthlessness that concerned him most as he prepares for Thursday’s Betfred Cup quarter-final with Motherwell on the back of two consecutive draws.
‘There were moments of sloppiness in the goal we lost and it was fortunate for Kilmarnock, but they 100 per cent deserved their point,’ he said.
‘They were the team with enough discipline against the ball in the second half and we didn’t have enough tempo, thought or calmness to go and get the winning goal.
‘It was all too hurryscurry.
‘We hoped to win rather than setting out to win and didn’t have enough good performances in the second half.
‘We had a wee rally late on, but it wasn’t enough. We got what we deserved.
‘We made changes to try to change the dynamic, but it was a patchy second half performance. We know we need to be better to win games like that and it’s definitely a case of two points dropped.
‘Killie got a jag of adrenaline and a bit of confidence from the goal which gave them something to hold on to. But we caused that. We allowed that
opportunity to happen for them.
‘I think the better players in the second half were in the Kilmarnock jerseys.’
McInnes also refuses to accept the largescale changes to his squad in the summer as a reason for this recent dip in performances.
‘We’re well into September now, so that, as a reason, starts not to have the same weight behind it, to be honest,’ he said.
‘But we are unbeaten and second top of the league, so we are not going to get too concerned.
‘I feel we are capable of so much more, though, and it is important that we all work hard to try to find that form.’
Following a similarly impressive start, Aberdeen went on to play second-fiddle to Hearts last weekend in a goalless draw at Murrayfield. It is a point not lost on McInnes.
‘We had a strong half-hour, deservedly got our goal and were playing well at a tempo and asking questions of them,’ he said.
‘Kilmarnock then suffered an injury which forced a change and it helped their cause. The game became quicker, we didn’t get as much time on the ball and I don’t think we ever got any rhythm of fluency to our game from there.
‘We were disjointed and it was similar to the second half performance at Murrayfield.’