Aberdeen revival down to lack of bruised egos at Pittodrie

Defender Paul Quinn insists there is nobody in the Aberdeen dressing room with issues over team selection. Picture: SNS

The Dons will return to the top of the table if they make it a sixth win in seven unbeaten matches at home to Inverness Caley Thistle today, quite a recovery after a run of just one point from the previous 15 available.That should be no surprise given the depth of squad McInnes has built when you consider that players such as Barry Robson, Peter Pawlett, David Goodwillie and even Adam Rooney have not been guaranteed starts at times this season.

Experienced defender Quinn, who certainly falls into that category, has been at clubs where that scenario has caused problems in the dressing room, but his current manager has proved adept at dealing with the situation.

That in turn has been reflected in recent results and will continue to be an important factor if Aberdeen are to keep the pressure on Celtic for the title and enjoy success in the Scottish Cup.

“We need to keep the momentum going, but the manager is doing it well as he has some big characters to deal with, but he’s doing a great job,” said Quinn.

“There are experienced people who want to play and he has to get younger players to understand it’s all about timing fitting them in.

“It must be a nightmare for the manager but the one thing we have is the togetherness and the right attitude.

“I’ve played in dressing rooms where some players have the ‘I’m not playing’ type of attitude. As soon as one selfish player or one person veers off the path that could put the cat amongst the pigeons.

“We don’t have that here and that has been evident since the day I walked in the door. We are all in it together and I don’t think the manager or club would have it any other way.

“That’s why when we do rotate the side for whatever reason the level of performance sometimes improves but certainly doesn’t drop.”

Inverness playerLiam Polworth believes Caley Thistle can rise to the occasion again when they take on Aberdeen as underdogs.

The Scottish Cup holders have prided themselves on upsetting the odds throughout the years, notably against Celtic, and Polworth feels they can belie their current bottom-six status at Pittodrie.

“It’s always a tough game,” said the 21-year-old midfielder. “They are a big team and they won their last game 4-0, so it was obviously some performance.

“But we are confident and excited to go down there and hopefully get the win.

“We always do well against the bigger teams. I would class Aberdeen as a bigger team. We always seem to step up and play against them.

“We are not where we want to be in the league just now but we can push on in the game and try to get the three points.”