Derek McInnes has no doubts Aberdeen win was deserved

ABERDEEN’S patience paid off yesterday when two late goals gave them the victory and saw them leapfrog both Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Motherwell to move into second place in the SPFL Premiership.

Derek McInnes: 'I thought it was a good performance from start to finish'. Picture: SNS

“There’s still a lot to be decided, a lot to be done but I think we are progressing,” said delighted Pittodrie gaffer Derek McInnes. “It’s only a start and I know we will be judged come the end of the season.”

Admitting that it had been nerve-wracking the longer the game went without a goal, he was adamant his men deserved the victory.

“I thought it was a good 
performance from start to finish and thoroughly deserved. I thought we brought a confidence to our play, we had good awareness, good concentration at the back.

“I’ve said to the boys to enjoy it for five minutes. I said ‘you worked hard today and you got what you deserved’ but all our energy now is concentrated on Wednesday.”

Vying with Motherwell for second place, they also face Stuart McCall’s men in the quarter-final of the League Cup on Wednesday, the same night Hibs play Hearts in the same competition.

“We’ll not feel sorry for ourselves,” said Hibs captain James McPake, who is likely to hold on to his place in the starting line-up after the club confirmed that defender Michael Nelson has a fractured eye socket. “We’ve been on a decent run and, if we win on Wednesday in the derby, we still are. It’s how you come back from setbacks. Previously this club has crumbled. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”