Del refuses to bite back at Stevie G’s jibes
D e r e k Mc I n n e s has insisted Aberdeen will not hold back at Ibrox today.
The Dons gaffer laughed off claims from Ra n g e r s counterpart Steven Gerrard that his side try harder against the Gers than anyone else in Scotland.
Mcinnes insists his men have tried to win every game they have played under his stewardship.
And he is demanding full commitment from the Reds against Rangers again today, because anything less would be disrespectful to one of the top fixtures in Scotland.
“Discipline is important in these type of games,” said Mcinnes.
“It is normally a charged atmosphere, but you never want it to spill over.
“There have been a lot of red cards this season, but some were deserved and some maybe weren’t.
“Cosgrove at Ibrox last time out, for example, was never a red-card offence.
“You need to try and keep a calmness on the pitch, but you wouldn’t want the atmosphere or the rivalry to be anything other than competitive.
“We have some key games in the Scottish league, and I would always see Rangers v Aberdeen as one of them.
“It whets the appetite and there is nothing wrong with that.”
Aberdeen have racked up three victories in Glasgow over Rangers already this season.
A fourth would move them to within five points of the second- places Gers with nine points still to play for.
Mc I n n e s believes the league runner- up spot is R a n g e r s’ to lose, regardless of what happens today at Ibrox.
But he remains pleased with how his side have matched up to the strongest Gers team over the course of the season.
After drawing with Steven Gerrard’s side on the opening day of the season – a result that Gerrard summed up by claiming his side were “a class above” Aberdeen – the Reds have only lost once to their Ibrox rivals.
That’s a stat Mcinnes d o e s n’t w a n t to see changing this afternoon.
“Arguably, the defeat was probably our best per for mance against Rangers,” he said.
“It was more of an open game, even though we got beat.
“Rangers showed their quality when they had space to work.
“They are as good as any team in the league when they have time and space to operate.
“They have good players and a very healthy squad, with good numbers and a good level of player.
“The Rangers squad and team this season are much improved and we have our work cut out.
“Every time we play Rangers we have to work hard to get a positive result and hopefully we can do that again.”