McInnes still hopes to put dent in Celtic juggernaut

DEREK McINNES is a competitor to his core. He would love nothing more than for his Aberdeen side to be the first in Scotland this season to bloody Celtic’s nose.

He is also a realist. Right now, the outcome of the 38-round prize fight for the Premiership doesn’t seem a subject worthy of too much sensible debate.

McInnes looks at the way Brendan Rodgers has transformed his side into a formidable force — one which has dropped two points from the first 27 available, scoring 30 goals in the process.

He sees an attacking trio with the capability of netting 70 times between them before the campaign is over. And a defence which has now recorded four successive domestic clean sheets.

That is not to say all these factors cannot be overcome on a one-off basis. That bumps cannot be placed in the road towards what looks inevitable. That a degree of doubt can be injected. Aberdeen intend to prove just that at Pittodrie tomorrow lunchtime.

Asked if predictions of Celtic winning the league at a canter were disrespectful to his team and others, McInnes replied: ‘I don’t think it is disrespectful. I think it is understandable that people believe Celtic will win the league. It is up to us and others to do all we can to make sure that isn’t the case.

‘Only a fool would say Celtic aren’t going to win the league the way they have started but we all have responsibilities to make sure it is not comfortable for them either.

‘They have little bits of doubt throughout the season and there is no better time than when you play them yourself. You can leave your mark on them and do damage to them by winning the game. That is our intention for Saturday.

‘I think that helped us stay with Celtic last term. I don’t think they won the league until three games to go and us beating them twice here was a big part in that.

‘You look at leagues all over Europe and usually by Christmas there are one or two teams stretching away from everybody.

‘That is how it is in most countries, but for us to try and stay with Celtic it is going to be difficult.

‘I have always said Celtic will need to have a poorer season for others to get close to them.

‘They’ve improved and that makes the challenge harder but we shouldn’t roll over either.

‘We’ve pride in ourselves and we want to give them something to think about. The only time we can really do that is when we play them and, hopefully, we can do that on Saturday.’

Victory would move Celtic ten points clear of their hosts with a game in hand. Inevitably, that would lead some to suggest the league race was already over.

‘They would be in a strong position going into November but I don’t think it would be over,’ said McInnes (below).

‘There are still a lot of points to play for but it is very difficult for everybody before a ball is even kicked when you see the players Celtic bring in and how their manager is working.

‘But the gap could be down to four points on Saturday and I’m just thinking we have got the chance to try and halt them.

‘I would like to think that they are not unbeatable. I still think that we can beat them and we can only make it uncomfortable for them when we play them.’ Between them, Moussa Dembele, Leigh Griffiths and Scott Sinclair have already scored 32 goals, highlighting the depth of forward power available to Rodgers.

‘Their attacking threat is stronger but Kolo Toure’s arrival has also helped them defensively,’ added McInnes.

‘Jason Denayer and Virgil van Dijk were probably the best defensive pairing the Scottish Premiership has had for a long time but they maybe never had the firepower.

‘Last year, they were so reliant on Leigh Griffiths but now Sinclair looks like he can score 25 goals, too. ‘Dembele will score close to that as well, maybe more, and Griffiths is still capable of that, so you are talking up to 70 goals between three players.’