Mcinnes admits Aberdeen

team,” he said. “They have good quality players. They showed it last season and the season before.

“They lost Jonny Hayes to us in the summer but they have Ryan Christie, although he can’t play against us, and now Gary Mackay-steven. They are very good players.

“Them being in this position is therefore not a surprise because they’ve shown this before.

“They are also playing very well. It will be a very important one for us because obviously we have the same points. Aberdeen are doing fine for the moment and we know it is very difficult there. I have been twice and it is definitely not easy. But, as I said, we can cope with anything.” Derek Mcinnes has admitted Aberdeen could be tempted into selling Rangers target Kenny Mclean in January rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.

The Ibrox club had a £300,000 bid for the midfielder thrown out in June but the Pittodrie club are likely to be more amenable to offers from interested parties when the transfer window reopens now the player has made it clear he will definitely be leaving when his contract ends in May. That wasn’t the news Mcinnes was looking for in the build-up to tonight’s top-of-the-table clash with Celtic but the Aberdeen manager is hoping they see off any interest Mclean, pictured, until he’s helped them bring more silverware to Pittodrie.

“I’ve got it in my head that I will be working with him for the rest of the season but, like everything else, we can only control that until then,” said Mcinnes.

“If we get an offer in January then it may well be something that we would consider like everything else.

“I’m not thinking about replacing him in January and we have considered offers