McInnes relief at extended break
Glasgow holds no fear for Niall as he eyes Celts shock
DEREK McINNES last night spoke of his delight after a run of results fired Aberdeen straight into the second round of qualifiers for next season’s Europa League. And the Dons boss insisted it won’t just be his players who benefit from an extended summer break but also the brand spanking new Pittodrie pitch. Aberdeen’s bonus was confirmed yesterday when Feyenoord defeated Heracles on the final day of the league season in Holland to pip Ajax to the Eredivisie title.
McInnes told Record Sport: “We still have some work to do in terms of finishing
NIALL McGINN has vowed Aberdeen will learn their lessons from a couple of collapses to storm Glasgow and seal a magical end to the campaign. The Dons are gearing up for three massive trips south over the final 12 days of the season. They face Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday then Partick Thistle at Firhill on Sunday before the mammoth Scottish Cup showdown against Celtic at Hampden. McGinn is adamant the Reds can finish off with a triumphant treble. But he knows they can only do so if they stop the slumps which have overshadowed their past two games against the Old Firm. Last Friday night, Derek McInnes’ team were left shellshocked after being hit by a three-goal Celtic burst in 11 minutes. A month ago in their previous meeting with Rangers, they lost three goals in just six minutes. On both sour Pittordie occasions, the Dons performed well for the remainder of the match. McGinn said: “It was a very strange start against Celtic. I don’t think our forward players had touched the ball and we were 3-0 down. “It’s something we have to learn from and it was a very frustrating one at Pittodrie as well when we lost to Rangers. “You could see on that day we were the better side and created more chances again. One thing we need to get out of our game is that, when we concede one goal, we can’t be losing two and three very quickly. “We need to get on the training ground and work hard defensively, same with attacking. “We know we’ll be in those situations again when we are under the cosh and we are going to have to defend at the right times, just like we’ll need to take our chances when they come along.” McGinn is adamant Aberdeen’s confidence is not dented by the setbacks. He said: “We know it’s something we have to learn from and if we are going to make mistakes like that, we are going to get punished against a very good side. “Once Jonny Hayes got our goal on Friday, we were probably the more creative side. “When you are going off at halftime 3-1 down and the fans are applauding then you know it’s a different game. It wasn’t the start we
We know if we turn up and take our chances, we are a match for anyone NIALL McGINN