Reaction as former Don makes Scots squad

AFC: Former captain insists it’ s not panic stations at Pittodrie

Former Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson has laughed off suggestions his club is in crisis.

The Dons suffered their heaviest defeat of Derek McInnes’s reign on Saturday when they lost 5-0 to Rangers at Ibrox.

Anderson, who lifted the League Cup as captain in McInnes’s first full season in charge at Pittodrie, knows some fans are also questioning the manager’s position but he insists the notion his former boss is under pressure is ridiculous.

He said: “People can have short memories. Whilst I accept fans can be frustrated after paying their hard-earned money watching the team home and away, which gives them the right to voice their opinion, when you look at some of the previous seasons before the manager came in and where the club was prior to that, it is easy to have a knee-jerk reaction.

“Some people will say it’s not knee-jerk and it has been building but it would be a big call to even consider his position to be honest. You know how fickle football can be.

“It’s still early in the season, there is plenty to play for, and improving on the last two results has to be the aim. I’m sure that will happen as the injured players gradually come back as they will make a big difference.

“This is not a crisis. But expectation levels have changed due to the success the manager has brought to the club. More is expected of the players, which is a good place to be, but crisis is a little bit of an exaggeration.”

A crippling injury crisis played a part in Aberdeen’s heavy defeat with eight players missing the Ibrox mauling and Anderson says the absence of key players cannot be ignored.

He said: “I’ve been there before. It’s a difficult one to take because the record at Ibrox has been pretty good recently and I noticed Steven Gerrard made reference to that in his post-match comments.

“But I think when you look at the players they had out on Saturday... maybe Celtic, perhaps Rangers can cope with that.

“But eight first-team players out? Any other team will find it difficult to go to the home of an Old Firm club and get a result.

“I’m sure there would have been a game plan in place to try to keep it tight, frustrate them and grow into the game but when you concede an early goal it makes it all the more difficult.

“The players will be disappointed coming back up on the bus on Saturday night but as professionals they need to recover as quickly as possible as there is a huge game on Saturday.”