Derek McInnes |

”The win was testament to the players.

“It is not a coincidence that we have had a lot of late winners during my years at the club. We have certainly had it this season as well.

“It is an identity of the team. It indicates a few things, but I think it indicates we have game changers on the bench and also highlights the mindset of the subs coming on. It shows the determination of the players to keep going.

“The performance was in complete contract to Wednesday night but we still won the same three points.

“We looked on Wednesday night that we could not do anything wrong, we were absolutely on top of our game and put in a high level of performance. Today in the first half it was the opposite. We were sloppy with our work. Credit to Kilmarnock, Lee set them up well in a 4-1-4-1 formation. They were very compact. Although Kris Boyd was isolated and they did not cause us too many problems apart from the goal, I still thought we gave them too much encouragement because we were so loose in possession of the ball. We rushed our pass, our control was poor. It was not like us. We passed up a couple of opportunities ourselves but we were looking for far better.

“At half-time we wanted to get a flow to our play so we brought Shinnie on. We wanted to use his energy to get us going. We wanted to his legs in the middle of the park to get us moving. We also tried to create an in balance in the game by going three at the back. Sometimes you have to create an in balance to get a team out of their shape. I thought to an extent it worked but it was risky.

“We had to try and do something and the real game changer was when Jayden and Peter came on. That was more impactful that anything tactically we did. We wanted to get attacking players on the pitch so we go with McGinn and Hayes in wider areas, we play Stockley and Rooney through the middle and Pawlett in the No 10 position just to try and force the issue. I don’t think we could have gone any more attacking and thankfully we have managed to find a way to win.

“And we will take it.

“There is an honesty to us and we put the game at risk today with our performance. But whether it is a brilliant performance like Wednesday or performance where we know that we can do better, it is still a win.

“I thought they was a lot going on today that was a bit frustrating.

“You always want your team to play well and show their full potential but it is not always all about us. Today Kilmarnock deserve a lot of credit. I think they deserved more from the game today.

“We are a team that are accustomed to winning and I think you saw that, certainly when the equaliser went in. We wanted to go and get a winner and I do think that is an identity of us.

“But I still think the opponent today deserves credit for their work. On another day, they probably get something from the game. All that said, it is always satisfying when you feel that you have come away from home, been nowhere near your best but you have still found a way to win.

“We now have nine wins out of ten and have kept the winning momentum going which is important at this stage of the season.

“There are still 13 league games to be played and a lot of points to be played for. But some games are more difficult than others and today was difficult. It was a tough day but we managed to get there. “Andy (Considine) went off to get stiches but we did not have enough time to get the job done and get him back on. So we made the changes. He will be ok though for next week.”

“There are still 13 league games to be played and a lot of points to be played for. But some games are more difficult than others and today was difficult. It was a tough day but we managed to get there. “Andy (Considine) went off to get stiches but we did not have enough time to get the job done and get him back on. So we made the changes. He will be ok though for next week.”