Wright backs boss to keep home fires burning at Pittodrie

ABERDEEN winger Scott Wright is confident Derek McInnes will reject the advances of Rangers to remain as Aberdeen manager.

The 20-year-old signed a new contract recently, which has tied him down to Pittodrie until 2021, and he said the opportunity to continue working with McInnes was a factor in committing his long-term future to the club.

Rangers are expected to make an official approach for McInnes in the coming days following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha.

‘There will always be speculation but he’s said before he’s still got a job to do here,’ said Wright. ‘Everyone wants him to stay because we love playing under him.

‘The manager has been a massive part of my career since I came to the club full-time, he’s been brilliant for the club and for me.

‘I hope he stays and I’m fairly confident he will. I signed a new contract because I want to work with him, that was a big factor in signing on again.

‘The fans love him here as well, which is massive for him, but it’s not something anyone has spoken about.’

McInnes himself said that the speculation had not been a distraction for his players. ‘I don’t think it’s hard for players when there’s other talk in the background,’ he said.

‘Being a player myself it was always about your own professional pride. I think you can see clearly the focus of the players and staff, everyone. We were all geared to try to win the game and we’re well used to speculation here, whether it’s about our players or whether it’s about myself.

‘We have dealt with that in the past and we’ll continue to deal with that.’

Ryan Christie scored a stunning 18-yarder goal in their 2-1 victory and McInnes hopes the 22-yearold is named by Malky Mackay in the Scotland squad to face Holland at Pittodrie next month.

‘I’ve been optimistic before but I’ve had a couple of conversations with Malky,’ said McInnes. ‘I don’t know for sure but I’m hopeful that we’ll get some sort of representation in that squad.’

Now a point behind Celtic, McInnes was coy about a title challenge.

‘It’s just about getting back on track and getting another winning run,’ he said.

‘It’s not about keeping in touch with Celtic, it’s all about being happy with our own work.’