GMS IS A DONS VIP

FROM BACK PAGE he felt the former Celtic star’s standards had dropped recently.

Aberdeen boss McInnes said: “It was important Gary produced a performance as I wasn’t too happy with his recent displays.

“I had a word with him and told him it is important he realises how important a player he is.

“He will go away with the Scotland squad in good spirits and Gary is someone who needs to be really on it for us. When he is we’re a better team and once he got his goal he was a handful. When he reaches his levels he is as good a wide player as we have got.”

McInnes reckons he’s now seeing his real Dons team back in the top six.

He said: “I’ve been saying for a while that there are reasons why we haven’t had consistency of selection and in the last four games we’ve played there has been one change in each of them.”

Neil Lennon refused to make Ryan Porteous the fall guy for Hibs’ loss. The young defender’s mistake gave away possession for the winner.

Lennon insisted the rest of his team were just as culpable as they failed to score for the third game on the bounce.

The Easter Road boss said: “We’ve got possession, Ryan doesn’t need to play the ball. Why he is playing the ball to Lewis I don’t know when he has time to come forward and we were punished for it.

“It was a great hit but apart from that I don’t remember Aberdeen doing anything at all and we had all the chances in the second half.

“Ryan made a mistake but he is a strong character and the players owed him as they had enough chances to get him out of trouble

and didn’t take them.”