WHAT A CHEEK
McInnes hits out at Collins for ‘slap in the face’ to Scots clubs
ABERDEEN manager Derek McInnes l ast night accused Celtic assistant boss John Collins of giving the entire Scottish Premiership ‘a slap in the face’ with comments over the l evel of competition in this country.
The Parkhead No 2 made weekend claims that top-flight opponents are not ‘clever enough’ or ‘quick enough thinkers’ to punish his side in the same way as teams they face in European competition.
It i s an assertion that brought a stinging rebuke from McInnes after he watched Aberdeen earn a 2-0 home win over Kilmarnock, which sees them join Celtic — who beat Partick Thistle by the same scoreline — and Hearts at the top of the table.
‘He’s got a lot to say for an assistant manager, to be honest,’ said McInnes of Collins’ words.
‘He’s entitled to his opinion but if it was that easy, they would win the Treble every year.
‘I think it’s very disparaging. It’s a poor comment. Whether he thinks that or not, I think it’s disrespectful to the rest of the league to say that.
‘It’s disappointing. There is a level of competition there that can test them and I think what he said is a slap in the
face to the rest of the league.’ Aberdeen themselves kept the pressure on Celtic in the Premiership until the final few weeks of last season and McInnes is determined to intensify that challenge in the months ahead. It will certainly add another layer of intensity to next month’s first meeting between the pair at Pittodrie. The Dons manager was delighted with the character his players showed against Kilmarnock after the disappointment of their Europa League exit last week. ‘I thought we dominated the whole game and I can’t praise the players enough,’ said McInnes, who saw Graeme Shinnie open his Aberdeen goalscoring account and Adam Rooney get off the mark for the season with a penalty strike. ‘We asked them before the game to make sure they didn’t put one game above the other in terms of importance. ‘We didn’t want this to be a case of after the lord mayor’s show because the Kairat game was important to us, but this one was important too and we got the job done. ‘We had raiding full-backs, the movement was great and we dominated in the middle of the park. It was a really dominant performance. ‘We looked as if we could score time and time again. Their keeper made some good saves. ‘After the hectic time we’ve had, to get two wins and two clean sheets to start the league season... I’m delighted.’ Aberdeen’s players will now enjoy a couple of days off as the midweek home game with Hamilton is postponed to allow them time to recover from their recent European exertions. That will also give midfielder Peter Pawlett the chance to recover from the ankle injury that kept him sidelined yesterday in time to play at Motherwell on Saturday.