Derek McInnes |
Early today the Aberdeen manager spoke at length to RedTV and gave all the very latest news from inside Pittodrie: To watch the interview please click here
Recent Games
“The level of performance in the Hamilton game was excellent. All the stats that we try to gauge performance on were all up apart from shots on target and obviously goals which is the most important one. I thought tactically we got it spot on and the players took the game plan on really well. They dominated possession and you don’t see that in many SPFL games. But you have to credit Hamilton, they have something to hang onto and they fought for it.
“We were disappointed but concentrated on the positives going into the Thistle game. The response we got on Sunday was immediate. It was always going to be a challenging game but for a lot of reasons – it was the Quarter Final of the Scottish Cup, the pitch is not how is want it at the moment and I think it makes it harder to score but we have to overcome that and Thistle were coming up here in very good form which meant it was going to be a very good test for us. I thought from start to finish we were the better team. I don’t think Joe has had a save to make and we have passed up some good opportunities. Thankfully we have got a good goal from Graeme to get us into the semi-final. It was no more than we deserved.
“Tactically again our set up was good and caused Thistle problems. We tried to counter their shape and give them something to think about. The players deserve a lot of credit again.
“The last couple of games, we lost one and won one but the performances were decent.”
Cup Draw
“Hibs are the cup holders, they are a club with a big tradition and obviously they have done well to get here again. They look odds on to get back to the Premiership. We will now have the chance to watch them a bit closer. I have seen Hibs a couple of times this season already but we will watch them between now and then. They have a team more than capable of beating us. We have to make sure our performance levels are hopefully good going into the semi-final and good on the day. Hopefully we will prove our worth and get into the final. We feel it is a game we can win but we are up against a tough opponent.”
Motherwell Preview
“The last time we faced Motherwell it was a special night. Our attacking play was so good on the night. We were clinical with our work. We could have scored a couple more but any time you score seven goals is very rare. It looks like Stephen Robinson will be in charge for the game. Steve knows the players, he knows the club. He got a good result down at Kilmarnock on Saturday. I watched it and he made good adjustments in the game to force it their way. So I think they will come up here with a game plan to try and get something from the match. There is plenty of experience in the Motherwell team and with Steve knowing the players and knowing us well enough, I know he has watched us a couple of times already this season, I think we have our work cut out. We are at home though, we like being at home.
“We have to go out and show good intent to try and win the three points.”
Injury latest
“Mark Reynolds, the likelihood is that he will go in for an operation. He will get that done over the next couple of days. He has developed a hernia which hindered him a bit but did not stop him playing games. It was something we thought we could manage till the end of the season but it became clear that it is something that we need to get done. He will be out for the best part of four weeks. He is a good heeler Mark and hopefully he will come back soon.
“There is good news on Ryan Jack. We think he will be available for the weekend which is fantastic news. We thought he would be out for a few weeks but He has responded well to treatment and the work the medical have done with him.”
AFC Community Trust Day
“Any initiative like this through the community is very important. If there are people coming to a game for the first time then hopefully they can enjoy the matchday experience, hopefully they can see the team winning and see what it means to everyone. Even if they are not a big Aberdeen supporter before they arrive at the game, hopefully they are one when they leave. The Community Trust do so much good work getting out there and integrating with the community. Also, a big part of that is to bring more and more people to the club. hopefully everyone who comes along enjoys the game and the experience.”
Contract latest
“Firstly on Peter. It has been indicated that he will probably sign for MK Dons on a pre-contract. It is something we have been aware of over the last couple of weeks. Contract talks with Peter have been ongoing since the turn of the year and we were given a bit of encouragement that Peter wanted to stay. But I think Peter’s desire to play in England has won the day for MK Dons. So we are disappointed with that but he is the first player that we have really wanted to keep that has decided to go elsewhere. We made him a good offer and I sure Peter will reiterate that at the right time. We made him a strong offer but ultimately it is not going to be enough to keep him. He feels going to England is something he has always wanted to do. We will wish Peter well but we still have work to do between now and the end of the season to achieve our objectives and we need Peter to help us.
“If Peter does decide to go to MK Dons which does seem likely, we wish him well with that. Peter was a strong performer for us at the weekend, he showed what he is capable of and hopefully we can get similar performances from him whilst he is still an Aberdeen player. “The other players, it is ongoing.
“I think a lot of the time we have to respect each and every player’s situation. Some of them are at different stages of their career. They may well have other interests and options. All we can do is try our best but as I have said often enough it will not stop us planning for next season. And if we do lose some of the out of contract players, we will always be able to attract good players. I think players decide to sign for a club or leave clubs for various reasons. I find a lot of the times it is financial but for us we have to give our best offers over to the players and accentuate the positives of being here. If we don’t manage to keep certain player’s we will then concentrate on getting good players in who can help us. We will always have good players here. We can’t get too down about it. We need to be grown up about it.
“Whatever happens will not detract from what we want to do between now and the end of the season.”
Tony and Scotland
“I spoke to Gordon Strachan a few weeks ago, think it was prior to the Kilmarnock game and the idea was first muted. I spoke to Tony the week after about it and as I thought Tony was really keen to do it. I think it is good for the club. You want any of your staff to be recognised like that. I think it is a good assessment of Tony’s work at Pittodrie. Word gets about, who is good at their job?
“Tony is a key member of staff for us. I think it is fantastic. It is only for the two games but I think Tony is really looking forward to it. It won’t affect his Aberdeen work as we will give the players some time off during the international break. Everyone is pleased for him and he has to a chance to go and work with a very good manager in Gordon Strachan.
“Hopefully there will be a few Aberdeen players in there as well. There are a few Aberdeen players who are playing very well at the moment who might come into Gordon’s thinking but he has a lot of players to consider.”
Andrew Considine
“I think it has been well documented how I feel about Andy and his performances for me. He has been a consistent performer over a period of time. To break into the top ten all time AFC appearances is a fantastic achievement for him. He should be proud of it. It was something we spoke about with the players prior to the game on Sunday.
“I think Andy’s performance was so good as well against Partick. I think he is getting better and better. And that is the way with good defenders. They get better with age. They make good decisions. Andy has always been very professional with his approach to his career but I think he is more athletic now. He is also playing in a good team which is bringing the best out of him.
“He should be applauded for not just playing that amount of games but also the level of consistency he has had under different managers. He has played a big part in helping us get where we are now.”
