After the 2-0 win over Motherwell, Derek McInnes gave his reaction to the media
“First and foremost it was a dominant performance from us.
“Whilst the second goal took a while to come like it did against St Johnstone, I don’t think we gave Motherwell too much encouragement it terms of letting them near our goalkeeper. We did give them some encouragement by not taking our chances when the game is still only 1-0. If we get a second goal it makes the game easier to manage.
“So the only thing is we need to be more clinical in front of goal but as I say it was still a very good dominant performance. The players showed great energy.
“It has been a tough schedule over the festive period, this was our third game in a week, but we produced another strong performance and got another clean sheet to make it seven wins in a row.
“The clean sheets is not just a reflection on the goalkeeper and the defenders. It is a reflection on the whole team and shows just how hard the players are working. It is also giving the players a lot of confidence going into games.
“It was aimed at me after the game against St Johnstone that the players handled the pressure of going top of the league really well and I genuinely hadn’t thought about it. It was always just about the game.
“The players are honest enough just to have a real proper approach to the next challenge. We have come through the festive period with some strong performances and results. The pressure side of it hasn’t reared its head, it’s just something that we are enjoying.
“The league table can change, a few weeks back we were behind Hamilton, Dundee United and Inverness. The challenge is coming from a lot of teams and that’s really encouraging.
“We are getting credit at the minute and I want to credit my players. Everybody is looking for a challenge and I understand that but there are others up there who deserve credit as well at the moment.
“We are just enjoying it and there is such a long way to go. The Christmas and New Year period does test your professionalism and focus and I think we have come through that brilliantly.
“If we start to look too far ahead that can question your focus and concentration and before you know it you are losing a game and getting a slap in the face because you have not approached it right.
“At the minute our approach is spot-on and we are giving ourselves a chance to win. Because the confidence is high and we have some momentum it makes it easier to win games.
“We are just pleased where we are at the moment because at the start of December we were in fourth or fifth position. To have come through from then with seven league wins and no goals conceded shows what can be done. I think though we can still dig deep for more in terms of the performances.
“We are just looking for improvement this season and where that improvement takes us remains to be seen.” “It was great to get Willo back on the pitch today. He is such an influential player and will have an important part to play in the weeks ahead.”
REDTV | The manager’s post match media conference in full | please click here
REDTV | The manager’s post match media conference in full | please click here
