The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Sheerin: Let’ s put pressure on Hibs
Aberdeen interim manager Paul Sheerin has urged his side to put pressure on Hibernian as the race for third place reaches the home straight.
Following 33 games it has become a five-match sprint to the finish line and it is the Dons who have it all to do as they bid to claw back a seven point deficit.
Aberdeen have the chance to reduce the gap to four points – for 24 hours at least – and Sheerin knows it is vital his side take it at St Johnstone today in what will be his final game in charge before Stephen Glass takes over on Tuesday.
He said: “It’s important to get points on the board, three points at any time are important.
“The gap’s a bit wider than we would like going into the split but it does give us the opportunity to close it to four points, albeit Hibs will play Rangers on Sunday with the chance to open that gap again.
“It is always a challenge against St Johnstone all the time I have been involved at the club.
“I have been involved in first team games since I have been in so I know coming up against them more often than not they are stuffy affairs.
“A lot of the time they have been 1-0s and 0-0s with the odd occasion where there have been more goals.
“We are well aware it will be a tough afternoon. We know how well St Johnstone have done as a club with winning the League Cup and getting a top six finish again. “Their consistency has been incredible. We will prepare as best we can.”
Callum Hendry will miss out against his parent club but Fraser Hornby, pictured left, is set to return after missing the 1-0 win at Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup last weekend.
Hendry’s goal was the Dons’ second in the last 11 matches but Sheerin hopes the strike is a sign Aberdeen’s return in front of goal is set to improve.
He said: “The longer it goes and with the position we have been in with the lack of goals it was a bit more precarious than we would have liked it to be.
“But the fact we had 25 shots on target and 83% of the possession suggests we were worth our win albeit it would have been nice to have been more comfortable and Dumbarton made it difficult for us.
“I know having been the underdog in my time they do like to glorify the underdog but we were well worth the win on Saturday.”
Calvin Ramsay has recovered from the cramp which forced him to come off at Dumbarton while Jack MacKenzie is also available after missing the win due to being cup-tied.
The Stephen Glass era will officially get under way on Tuesday but Lewis Ferguson believes his new manager is not interested in a honeymoon period.
Glass arrived in Scotland from the United States a week ago but must complete a Covid- enforced quarantine before he can get down to work next week.
However, the new Dons boss has wasted little time in getting to know his players and midfielder Ferguson is already feeling excited about working with his new manager.
He said: “I spoke to him briefly over the phone the other day. I think the other boys have spoken to him as well.
“I spoke to him for 10 or 15 minutes and we chatted about football, how it has been and how he sees things going forward. It was very positive and we are looking forward to getting him in.
“He chatted to me about the games recently and how I have felt in the game.
“He spoke about the rest of this season and next season and we really need to knuckle down over these last five games because they are massive for us.
“If we want to go on and achieve that third spot then we are going to need to win most of the games and hope other results go our way.
“We need to focus on this season before we start thinking about the next.”
The wait to work with Glass, who was appointed more than two weeks ago, has been a surreal experience for the firstteam squad.
But Ferguson believes everyone is already eager to impress the manager even though he is watching from afar.
He said: “It is pretty strange.
“We know he has been watching and he will be watching even closer this weekend as well as at last weekend’s game.
“The team know he will be keeping a close eye on us and we need to go and perform for ourselves and for him and to try to impress, so when he does come in he has a good understanding of what we are all about.”
One area where Ferguson knows everyone can attract their new manager’s attention is in front of goal.
Callum Hendry’s goal in the 1-0 win at Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup last weekend was only the second goal scored by the Dons in the last 11 matches.
Hendry, who also got the other goal, is ineligible against his parent club St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park today due to the conditions attached to his loan deal.
So Ferguson knows how important it is the rest of the team makes a contribution in front of goal.
He said: “We have struggled trying to hit the back of the net recently.
“Our build up play has been pretty good but we have been struggling with that last bit of the puzzle in the final third.
“Whether it is the final pass or hitting the target we have really struggled.
“The longer games go on and we haven’t scored any goals we start to get a bit more nervous and it eats away.
“We need to put that to the side, keep working on our build up play and hopefully the goals will come.
“We just need to be a bit more calm and composed in the final third.”
Ferguson has the distinction of the being the leading goalscorer at Pittodrie with eight goals in the Premiership so far this season.
But he has not scored since October 25 when he netted twice in the 3-3 draw with Celtic.
He knows that statistic needs to improve.
Ferguson said: “I was really enjoying it, I was scoring goals and we were playing well.
“It is difficult and at times you need one to come off your backside but unfortunately it hasn’t happened.
“I’ve not had many chances apart from the one at the weekend where the goalkeeper has made a brilliant save.
“There have been a few here and there, where I should have scored but you need little things to go your way.
“I need to get back on the scoresheet after such a long run.”