Column: Duncan Shearer.

Aberdeen’s emphatic victory at Motherwell is the perfect way to answer the doubters.

There was a bit of pressure on Derek McInnes and his players so to deliver a performance of that quality is fantastic.

The goals – from Sam Cosgrove, Niall McGinn and Zak Vyner – were three top-class finishes.

Cosgrove has now scored 15 goals in 16 games this season, which is a remarkable return.

After the Motherwell game, manager Derek McInnes was comparing Cosgrove to Alfredo Morelos and Odsonne Edouard.

The Dons paid only £25,000 for the Englishman and he is certainly worth a lot more now.

The Dons will easily more than make up for the money they lost on Stevie May.

The Dons supporters won’t want to see him moving on but Derek will know there are likely to be clubs south of the border keeping a close eye on Cosgrove.

There were plenty of Aberdeen fans unhappy when they saw the teamsheet for the Motherwell match, with so many defenders named in the line-up.

But playing Vyner and Greg Leigh in the centre of midfield proved to be a masterstroke and

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if McInnes sticks with the same line-up when Celtic visit Pittodrie on Sunday.

McInnes is so short of options he won’t have the ability to make too many changes in any case but he seems to have found a formation that works.

The great thing is Vyner and Leigh are both defensively minded, which will help against a side like Celtic who are likely to have plenty of possession.

It is going to be a very difficult match for the Dons as Celtic looked

in ruthless mood when they slammed six goals past Ross County at the weekend.

I felt for Ross County but there will be some Celtic players who earn more in a week than the Staggies team combined.

It will take a couple of days for County to get that painful result out of their system but their success this season won’t be determined by games against Celtic.

The Hoops host Lazio in the Europa League on Thursday, while the Dons have a free week to prepare for Sunday’s match

but I don’t think that will have too much bearing on Sunday’s game.

Celtic are back on top of the league after Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Hearts and Neil Lennon’s side will be determined to stay there.

The Aberdeen support will hope Celtic come out of the Lazio game feeling tired but players at clubs like Celtic are well used to playing two games in quick succession.

It will be an intriguing game and if Aberdeen reach the same level they did at Fir Park they can cause an upset.

REMARKABLE: Sam Cosgrove opens the scoring at Motherwell and now has 15 goals from 16 matches

Masterstroke: Derek McInnes got his selection spot on