McLean expects Dons’ quality to shine through

Aberdeen midfielder Kenny McLean believes the Reds possess more than enough quality to beat Rangers in the race to finish best of the rest in the Scottish Premiership.

The destination of the title is already clear with Celtic, who beat the Dons 1-0 on Wednesday, out of sight with an insurmountable 25-point lead at the top of the table but the race to finish second looks likely to go the distance.

The Dons are two points behind Rangers but victories this afternoon against Partick and in their rescheduled match with Motherwell on February 15 will take Derek McInnes’ side above Mark Warburton’s men.

The Dons established themselves as Scottish football’s second force, while Rangers worked their way back up the divisions following their financial implosion and McLean says they have no intention of budging.

He said: “We should be looking to take maximum points when teams come to Pittodrie.

“Rangers have come up and I think everybody expects them to finish second because of their budget and because they brought in some bigname players.

“We will have our say in the matter and we know we are good enough.

“Rangers will do what they have to do but we know we have the quality to affect the league.”

Hearts showed they are not ready to give up on second with a crushing 4-1 midweek win against Rangers that took them – along with St Johnstone – to within six points of the Dons.

McLean added: “People are talking about Rangers and Aberdeen but Hearts and St Johnstone are also good teams. There is a long way to go and we are feeling confident.”