McInnes praises Hibs boss ahead of Pittodrie clash

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes rates his Hibernian counterpart Neil Lennon as a valuable part of Scottish football.

Lennon was in the headlines last week after he was hit by a coin thrown by a supporter during the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle, before stating that he was the target of abuse because he is an Irish Catholic.

McInnes has enjoyed several battles with Lennon over the years, during his period as Celtic and Hibernian manager, and rates him as someone who always gets the best out of his players.

He said: “I really like Neil as a guy and I think he’s competitive, wears his heart on his sleeve just like the way he played the game.

“He gives his clubs everything as he’s passionate, he speaks well and he’s a very good manager who brings the best out of people.

“You always expect a tough game against Neil’s team, whether that’s when I went up against him when he was the Celtic manager or now he’s in charge at Hibs.

“We’ve had two hard games against Hibs already this season that ended draws after 90 minutes down at Easter Road but we managed to win the cup tie on penalties.

“But we were under pressure for spells but managed to get the result and while losing a lastminute equaliser down there in the league was hard to take, it was probably no more than they deserved.”

Hibernian go north to the Granite City tonight and have yet to beat the Dons this season, drawing 1-1 in a league game at Easter Road and going out of the Betfred Cup on a penalty shootout.

Meanwhile, McInnes is confident of being able to extend the loan of full-back Max Lowe, whose deal from Derby expires in January.