The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Seconds out, Dons gear up for final league push
Experience is key in race to be best of rest, says Reds boss
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes hopes experience will count as his players aim to beat Rangers and Hibernian in the race to be best of the rest in the Scottish Premiership.
The Dons are third in the table, three points ahead of Hibs and trail Rangers by goal difference with four games remaining.
Hibs are the form side of the three and are in confident mood after beating Celtic at Easter Road on Saturday.
McInnes knows form will be key to claiming second place.
He said: “It is in our own hands to finish second, as it is for Rangers and Hibs, so we are not looking too far ahead and I expect there will be a few twists and turns yet.
“There are some good teams involved in it. We just want to make sure we are right at the heart of it.
“There have been a lot of plaudits for a lot of other teams in that top six this season and if we can finish second – and we are proud of the fact we have finished second over the past few years – it indicates some decent work from us and hopefully we can make the improvements we need to make to be better again next year.
“I would not say we are favourites to finish second but we do have the experience of doing that.
“There are strong squads there. Hibs are in good form but we have beaten them home and away this season and, if we find our form, we can win games against anyone. It is all about finding that form.”
Niall McGinn is set to return for tomorrow’s visit of Hearts as the Dons begin a run of three home games in a row, while Andrew Considine is available again after missing Saturday’s 2-0 win at Kilmarnock due to suspension.
McInnes is pleased his players responded well to their Scottish Cup semifinal defeat by Motherwell and is looking for a strong finish to the campaign.
He said: “It was good for the supporters to come down and see a winning team at Rugby Park and hopefully it sets us up for another good game against Hearts.
“Hopefully we can maintain the effort we showed at Kilmarnock and show the motivation that we showed on Saturday.
“It is going to be an exciting finish and I am just glad we picked up three points at the weekend and can now look forward to Friday.”
“I expect there will be a few twists and turns yet”