Jonny Hayes reflected on a strong Aberdeen performance that fell just short of taking points away from Rangers in Glasgow on Sunday.

“It was frustrating not to take anything from the game because I thought we defended excellently but it took a great finish to beat us. We came here to try and win the game and I thought the gameplan was working today apart from 10 minutes early in the second half where we gave up too much territory. Other than that, we pressed at the right times, we created some opportunities and I thought it was a good performance.

“We had some really good chances and it’s part of the learning curve or some of the guys that when you come here, you need to take opportunities like that. You can’t be too critical of Duk, he’s bailed us out on numerous occasions this season, but today wasn’t his day.

“The goal was an annoying one to concede. We sacrifice a player further out at corners to have someone extra to win headers in the six-yard box, which is important and has worked well for us this season. On this occasion, it was a wonder strike that flew in and I couldn’t react in time to get anything on it as it came past me.

The Dons fans travelled in numbers to Ibrox once again and Jonny paid tribute to their backing of the team throughout the campaign.

“The fans have been brilliant with us throughout the ups and downs this season, the Red Shed has been great, we’ve sold out away games time after time. It’s good to see the fans in a happier place and we want to give them the results that they deserve to finish the season strongly.

“The expectation here is to be at the top end of the table and we are doing our best to achieve that. We didn’t play well enough for a spell when we came back after the winter break, but the response since the end of January has been good. There are strong characters and leaders in the squad, and we have that resilience to pick ourselves up. Now that we’re at the right end of the table, it’s about staying there and finishing the job.”