McINNES UPBEAT BUT ADMITS THE SITUATION IS FRAGILE

FOR every baby step in the right direction, there’s always the threat of a sudden — and serious — reversal. Getting used to it yet? Derek McInnes sounds as if he’s quickly adapted to the new reality, the Aberdeen boss taking a philosophical approach to the ever-present risk of serious disruption.

Pleased to be getting 300 fans into Pittodrie for tomorrow’s much-vaunted ‘test event’, and aware of the risks surrounding next week’s Europa League trip to Norway, the experienced coach retains hope that a degree of normality will return. Eventually.

So, yes, he’s taking 22 players on the team charter for that qualifying round clash with Viking Stavanger. Just in case a positive test on match day forces a bit of juggling.

Having just been through the experience in the Granite City, he understands that localised Covid flare-ups may cause restrictions to be imposed at short notice. Ultimately, though, he has to believe that fans will be allowed back into games in greater numbers.

‘Professionally, the way the clubs are, progress is still being made,’ said McInnes. ‘So we’re delighted to get some supporters in on Saturday.

‘But then you see what’s happening, in general, in certain areas of Glasgow and Renfrewshire. There are still going to be areas that are affected and that’s going to be ongoing.

‘It was Aberdeen a few weeks ago with a cluster. There will be different areas at different times. While that is still there, I can understand a nervousness about giving more leeway to professional sport.

‘We’re just hoping that we can deal with the game on Saturday, in terms of the off-the-pitch stuff, testing to get supporters in. We’re confident we can do that safely. Hopefully, that then encourages, in the not-so-distant future, starting to get bigger numbers in.’

Although football has had its own Covid issues, with the ‘Aberdeen Eight’ and their lockdown breach a case in point, there’s no denying that the sport’s fate is inexorably linked to wider societal issues.

Regardless of test-and-trace data, any major schools closure would pretty much put the kibosh on punters attending live sports events. The optics just wouldn’t play well at Holyrood.

‘Nobody’s perfect and our club have had our own challenges,’ acknowledged McInnes. ‘We’ve been very stringent with loads of the testing.

‘We understand if, in general, the figures are still an issue then people involved in football will probably be affected by that. In terms of trying to prevent all that, it’s important to keep doing what we’ve been doing.

‘If we can keep giving confidence to the government, supporters, and the general public, then hopefully supporters will feel comfortable about coming to the stadium.

‘Getting 300 fans in is a step in the right direction. Hopefully those numbers will start to increase as we go along.’

Once Saturday is out of the way, Aberdeen face the even more daunting challenge of navigating a European tie in Norway.

Admitting to a degree of trepidation about a late positive throwing his bestlaid plans into chaos, McInnes said: ‘I think the more hurdles you have to get over, there is obviously more risk.

‘But there’s still a bit of risk in the domestic season that can affect you.

‘Especially those tests later in the week, there’s still a bit of nervousness waiting for the medical team to say that everyone’s got the all-clear.

‘So we are mindful of that, in terms of preparation. With the European game, there is a longer wait to find out if everybody is okay.

‘We will still take our normal squad, 22 players, so hopefully that covers us.’