RED MEN WALKING
McInnes says sorry to fans after ‘awful’ battering by Bhoys
ABERDEEN manager Derek McInnes last night apologised to supporters for an ‘awful’ 4-0 defeat to Celtic at Pittodrie. Thrashed 5-0 by Rangers last month, the Dons boss watched his porous defence ripped apart by first-half Celtic strikes from Odsonne Edouard, Jeremie Frimpong, James Forrest and Mohamed Elyounoussi. Admitting he was ‘astonished’ by the goals his side conceded, McInnes said he had expected Celtic’s Europa League exertions against Lazio to elicit a toll on the visitors.
However, the Dons manager was left bemoaning the lack of personality or leadership shown by his side in a passive and rudderless display — and admitted he was relieved to get through the second half without conceding more goals. ‘Celtic eased up in the second half as the job was done,’ he said. ‘We can’t
take Celtic on in a possession-based game but what we can do is let them know they are in a game. ‘That was a huge disappointment for me. I was astonished at some of the defending and the goals we lost. It was painful. ‘I can only apologise to our supporters. They deserve better than that. I think I deserve better than that.’ Buoyed by a 3-0 win at Motherwell the previous weekend, McInnes expected his team to be aggressive and competitive. They employed a pressing game in the first ten minutes, but the closing down and tackling disappeared as soon as Edouard took advantage of ponderous defending to throw the floodgates wide open. ‘I thought we were awful,’ added McInnes (right). ‘After losing the first goal, we lacked personality and determination. Every time the ball went in our box, it was a goal to Celtic. ‘In the first ten minutes we looked like we knew what we were doing. The first goal is awful, just awful. ‘Edouard can amble through and the lack of effort to stop it happening was poor. ‘We lost confidence from there. ‘We can lose that game but I don’t expect to lose like this.
I expect us to let Celtic know we are there.’ A shell-shocked McInnes made two changes at the break, turning to the experience of Craig Bryson on his return from injury. The former Derby County and Kilmarnock midfielder injected some character and leadership in a team badly missing the suspended Lewis Ferguson, with the Pittodrie manager hinting that he will throw Bryson in from the start for the trip to Hamilton on Wednesday night. ‘Craig Bryson came on and you could hear him barking instructions,’ said McInnes. ‘He knows the game and I need his influence on the pitch more. ‘All week I’ve expected us to be far better than we were but, from 2-0, the game was done and the confidence was gone. I wasn’t expecting that type of performance. ‘Ferguson will help us and Bryson can, hopefully, come in and help us now. ‘He has not gone into the physio in the last eight or nine days, so we are getting some running into him. ‘I need players to react in the right way and the only focus is on responding, starting with Hamilton. ‘The supporters should expect better and, hopefully, we can give them better.’