SIGN OF ENVY
McInnes still eyeing new recruits, but he knows Dons can’t match Celtic muscle
DEREK McINNES says he didn’t have to look far this week for a glaring example of the gap in resources between Aberdeen and Celtic.
The Dons boss was an envious bystander as Ronny Deila welcomed Danish international defender Erik Sviatchenko into the fold for a fee of £1.5million to bolster the Parkhead side’s Treble bid.
‘You saw Celtic during the week, they brought in a player which shows again the gulf between them and the rest,’ noted McInnes yesterday.
‘The fee and the boy’s wages would equate to my full footballing budget, so that shows the gulf of what we are trying to do.’
Undeterred, however, McInnes now wants to make his own — albeit less expensive — statement of intent ahead of a crucial period in Aberdeen’s title challenge which sees them host Dundee tonight and then Deila’s champions on Wednesday week.
He feels a key signing this month is important if his team are to keep the pressure on Celtic.
‘At times, you can see the benefit of bringing in a player who could help you in January,’ he said.
‘Look at the Championship, you see Rangers and Hibs trying to strengthen because they see the importance of trying to get over the line and getting them that promotion that brings success.
‘You saw Celtic during the week. Teams who want to have success see the importance of bringing in players in both windows.
‘We should never shy away from that as a club. It is important we look and see what is there.’
McInnes’ chances of making that happen should be boosted when Paul Quinn completes an expected return to Ross County that has been put on hold until after tonight’s match.
The centre-half, who scored the winner against Celtic in a 2-1 victory at Pittodrie i n September, is needed at Aberdeen as cover for Mark Reynolds while the skipper serves a one-game suspension after last Sunday’s red card at Dingwall.
When Quinn completes his move to County, it will free up some money, but what McInnes really wants is the kind of finance made available to him a year ago when he bought Kenny McLean from St Mirren for £300,000.
The midfielder was an ‘immediate impact signing’ which is what Aberdeen need again to have any chance of i mproving on l ast season’s second-place finish.
‘He was a good signing,’ added McInnes. ‘We felt we could have waited until the summer but we might have lost out or been in fierce competition with others.
‘Kenny’s gone on to show what a great asset he is for the club.
‘He’s shown everybody his worth because he’s been terrific. He was a signing we felt could come in and improve the team and we would love to make another signing like that. If we can’t, then we will go with what we have.
‘I don’t want to just make a signing. I want to make a signing not only for now, but for the longer term.’
Strengthening the midfield and finding a strike partner for Adam Rooney remain the priorities in a week which has seen Aberdeen l i nked with Partick Thistle’s Stuart Bannigan and loan moves f or Wigan’s Don Cowie and Southampton’s Sam Gallagher.
Captain Ryan Jack and fellow holding midfielder Willo Flood miss the double header against Dundee and Celtic and won’t be back in action until the end of next month.
Victory in both matches would ignite a championship challenge but McLean, for one, insists the title is Celtic’s to lose after their 8-1 demolition of Hamilton this week.
‘ It’s up to Celtic, everyone expects them to win the league,’ said the attacking midfielder.
‘After the result the other night, people think they will go on from here. It’s not in our hands, it’s in Celtic’s, so we j ust f ocus on ourselves. If we win the next two games it would be great, but we have to focus on the first one against Dundee.
‘A lot of people are already looking at the Celtic game but it hasn’t been mentioned in the dressing room. The Dundee one is more important right now. We want to get the three points there and move on.’
Aberdeen, on a nine - game unbeaten run in the league, will be on a high following their superb comeback victory against Ross County after they were reduced to 10 men.
They will be seeking a third straight win over the Dark Blues, but Dundee full-back Paul McGinn insists the Dons should be wary of a side which crashed into the top six after Saturday’s impressive 4-2 win at Partick.
And he is convinced the on-form Kane Hemmings, Gary Harkins and Greg Stewart can cause problems at Pittodrie tonight.
‘Kane is flying just now,’ said McGinn. ‘It’s a massive confidence thing when you see him in training and playing in games.
‘When Harkins played the way he did last weekend against Partick Thistle, there’s not much you can do to stop him. And there’s Greg Stewart, who’s scoring trademark goals and is obviously a quality player. We know what we have in our team and, hopefully, we can show that against Aberdeen.’
New boy Arturo Juan Perez-Reverte will watch from the stand after the Spanish striker signed f rom Cordoba CF earlier in the week.
Boss Paul Hartley said: ‘He’ll get a taste of what Scottish football is like but he won’t be in the squad.’