McInnes taking no time off as Dons plot Premiership title bid
DEREK McInnes and his right-hand man Tony Docherty won’t have much time to enjoy the sunshine of Dubai where they are overseeing the winter training camp with their in-form Aberdeen squad.
Instead, their “downtime” will be spent working out how to tackle the second half of the season and continue to be in the mix at the top end of the Premiership where, despite sitting in fourth place, they are just three points behind Celtic.
The statistics, however, show that the Dons need a goalscorer.
Sam Cosgrove may have hit a flurry of goals last month – seven in five December fixtures – but his tally of only two strikes up to that point had fans wondering of the wisdom of signing him from Carlisle United a year ago.
Stevie May has hit only three goals this season, which hardly represents value for the £400,000 paid to Preston North End for his services 18 months ago, while James Wilson, once a Manchester United boy wonder, has been a damp squib since his season-long loan started at Pittodrie in August, with just three goals in nine games.
How, then, will advancements for phase two of the campaign be made?
“Improvement comes in all sorts of ways,” McInnes said. “The biggest improvement since we took over is we actually have a team of value on the pitch.
“We have developed players and we have players playing at a high level. Improvements come from trophies, league positions and a lot of different ways.
“We are improving as a club off the pitch with the training facility and new stadium. We maybe have an even more motivated board and are debt-free.
“What we have done on the pitch has been the catalyst for what we are doing off the pitch.
“Quick-fix improvements come through finances. If we had more money, we could make those improvements quicker.
“But we have managed to be competitive without really having money to spend. We will continue to do what we can and try to get the best out of the players we have got.”