After the Dons struggled to get going after European duty last weekend, Derek McInnes was delighted to see his team firing on all cylinders against Ross County today.
“It was really important to get back to winning ways today. The tempo and intensity of the team was clear from the start, a complete turnaround from last Sunday where we were a bit dippy after the European trip. It was so important he had that in our game today and from first minute to last, I thought the boys were fantastic.
“I was so pleased with the fitness and intensity of the team, everybody played a good part including the subs, the players were outstanding. We scored three, could have been more, but we’ll take three goals and a clean sheet any time.
“We wanted to try and move their back four about, to try and get pace in the team, it was a good game for Niall to come into and he contributed well. Then when they went down to ten, Dylan came on and ran the game and made us a more possession based team. It’s clear we’ve got good options in the middle of the park now.
“It was good to get Tommie out there again after playing on Thursday. We still have to be wary of how he’s handling games after so long out, we’re assessing him all the time in recovery from games, but he was raring to go this afternoon. That’s a good sign because there’s no doubt that last Sunday, losing him and McKenna from the back three wasn’t ideal. Tommie isn’t just about his own game, he’s one of those who also makes the players around him better, so it was good to have him in the side.
“Playing three at the back. Tommie and Andy both know the full-back job so they can dip in out and on either flank, but Jonny is massive for it too. At the stage if his career he’s at, he’s a perfect wing-back and it’s so important to get the right players in their best positions. It suits us for now, we’ll see how it goes.
“Having Tommie available also allowed us to put Ross in the middle of the park and him and Fergie are very good for us in there as a combination. Because of the discipline they play with, the ones ahead of them like Hedges, Wright, McGinn, Hayes have more licence to get forward. The two are robust, they pick and choose their moments to get forward too, they were both involved there and Fergie got himself another couple of goals with well taken penalties.
“Beyond that, I was delighted that Marley got his goal. Anyone who has watched recently will know how well he’s led the line and that he has been a big contributor to the team. But he’s there to score goals as well, so that one is important for him because he’s had a few near misses over the time he’s been here but now he’s on his way hopefully. We know what Marley gives us, he’s never been a guy who scores 20 goals but he chips in and he is an important team player and I think playing in this team, he’s capable of getting well into double figures. Hopefully he’ll take confidence from that and score some more goals for us.
“It wasn’t an easy goal to score, a good ball in from Jonny but it was in the air a long time, he had to watch it all the way and then he had to generate a bit of pace on it to get it past the goalkeeper and you can see what his teammates think of him with the way they celebrated together. They recognise what he does for us. There was a sense of relief for the team too because we’d been so dominant in that first half but we wasted chances. Sometimes that comes back to bite you but today, thankfully it didn’t.
“There were a lot of good displays right through the team. I wanted to show faith in Scott Wright because him and Ryan weren’t at their best last weekend against Motherwell but they’ve contributed a lot this season and it’s important to give them that responsibility to be key players for us. Scott has come back from injury with added determination and that’s good for his game because he’s always been a lovely footballer but there’s a bit more edge now, he’s getting assists, getting into positions to score goals. I’ve been delighted with him, he has plenty of improvement still in him and that’ll come with games.”
The win means the Dons have closed the gap on Hibs to just two points, but the manager was very keen to make sure nobody gets ahead of themselves after another good win.
“It’s important to keep the focus, we’re playing for points, not just playing a game of football and there was a bit of that maybe last week. When you get on the road and keep a clean sheet, that’s your foundation, you give yourself a chance to win the game.
“We can only play the game in front of us, we can’t be looking down the road any further than the next 90 minutes. If we keep doing that, we give ourselves a chance to do well. If we can do the job again next Friday then hopefully, by the time we’re back after the international break, the likes of Matty, Sam and Mikey will be in and around things again and pushing for games and that will be really positive for us going into October’s games.”
