Derek McInnes tells Aberdeen players to forget Dens demolition

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is surprised to sees Inverness struggling. Picture: SNS.

The Pittodrie side showed why they are second only to champions Celtic on Friday night with a 7-0 win at Dens Park, where defender Andrew Considine captured the headlines with a hat-trick.

However, the Dons boss wants his side to re-focus on Richie Foran’s Caley Thistle who are two points adrift at the bottom of the table with eight games remaining.

He told RedTV: “The game on Friday night went far better than we could have expected. We went there to get three points, that was the priority, but to score seven goals and put on such a special performance was really pleasing.

“But it is another game on Tuesday and we can’t really look back too much on that. I do feel it is important that we move on.

“Even if we had lost the game on Friday it is always important to move on from the last game and look at this one and that is what we are trying to concentrate on.

“I made [that] reference to the players today. We stop talking about Dundee and focus on Inverness because it is a different game and the way the league is at the minute, every game has something on it.

“There is so much at stake for so many teams and Inverness are no different. Richie is getting far better performances and he is looking to turn it into more points.

“I’m surprised to see them where they are and I think they will be OK but I am sure Richie thinks that as well. They have work to do but they are a good side.”

It was announced last week that Aberdeen had signed the Inverness midfielder Greg Tansey on a pre-contract. The 28-year-old agreed a three-year deal and will join the Pittodrie club ahead of next season, but McInnes does not believe that will add any spice to the encounter.

“Not really,” he said. “I think maybe for Greg, but I spoke to Richie and he was happy for it to be announced.

“These things always have a habit of getting out there if they aren’t announced and we both felt it was the best thing to do, but it was Inverness’s decision at the end of the day.

“Greg is a player I have long admired. I think it is only fair that I don’t talk too much about that until he is my player but we are well aware of his qualities and his team-mates’ qualities and it is important that we try to focus on our own performance.”

Inverness defender Kevin McNaughton insists they cannot afford to sit back and defend against Aberdeen as their need for points is too great.

Caley Thistle slipped back to the bottom of the table on Saturday when they drew with Kilmarnock.

Despite Aberdeen’s seven-goal victory over Dundee, when they recorded their eighth win in nine league games, McNaughton feels his team have to throw caution to the wind at Pittodrie tonight.

The former Dons player said: “Their confidence will be high after a great result the other night. We’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves. There’s nothing to lose for us. We’re chasing and we have to win games – it’s simple.

“There’s no sitting back or inviting teams on to us – we have to actually go and win the match. We’ll go into every game now focused on that job, and if anything it takes a bit of pressure off ourselves.”

McNaughton, pictured, returned to action as a substitute against Kilmarnock after almost eight months out with an Achilles injury.

“It’s just great to be back involved,” the 34-year-old said. “It’s been a long road, the longest injury I’ve had, so just making an appearance at the weekend was great.

“It was important we never lost the game as it keeps Kilmarnock just within touching distance. We’ve got some tough games coming up, but we’ve been on a half-decent run. We’ve been drawing matches but we’ve certainly been competing.

“It’s just a case of doing the same and turning those draws into wins.

“We have to win games, we have to go in with that mindset now in every game that we have to win.

“It’s no different against Aberdeen. It’s a tough match but we’ve got to approach it  as if we’ve got to win the match.”