Derek McInnes
‘We enjoy winning the game and it’s a brilliant goal from Stevie to separate the teams.
“It is a moment of really quality.
“From that point of view, we deserve to win the game because we’ve produced that bit of quality, but the performance wasn’t as pleasing as we’d like.
“There were too many moments where Dundee had enough encouragement to think they could leave here with something. They got into some good positions and I thought they played well.
“They got into the good positions predominately through us giving the ball away in poor areas. They never made as much of those opportunities as they could have.
“The game is won by two bits of quality really.
“The delivery from Greg Tansey and Stevie’s done brilliantly for the first goal with his header and even better with the second. It’s a real instinctive hit and he smashes the ball as its dropping from the sky into the top corner.
“It’s a goal deserving of winning any game and I’m delighted for him. “We are aware ourselves performance wise we need to improve as we go along. The performance was disjointed at times and we didn’t produce our natural control and flow that we normally do at Pittodrie, but three points is three points and we will take it.
“There will be games this season where we will probably be deserving of more and be unlucky and come away with nothing. I think we deserve to win the game because of the quality of the goal.
“Three wins out of three and getting through in the cup is a good start but it’s a start we expect from ourselves I think it has to be said. We set high standards here and the aim is always to win every game and every game is a challenge and today was no different. I think we are honest enough to know that we’ve got to find those improvements as we go along. There wasn’t a lot of cohesion at times with our play and some poor decision making, but at the end of the day the players deserve a lot of credit.
“They stuck to their task, it wasn’t easy for them out there and they got the job done. The enjoyment comes from winning the game, but we will look to find those improvements as we go along this season. Hopefully we can continue our winning run down at Partick next week.
“We are going into an international break after the Thistle game and hopefully we can go into the break with a strong performance and the result we’re looking for. The immediate challenge is to try and get the job down.
“There were five games before the International break and the objective was to win all five and we’ve got that in our sights now. Every game is different and hopefully we can get the job done next week.
“I like the fact that Stevie isn’t reliant on service and the fact he can go and he can score a goal himself. He can go and manufacture something for himself as you saw today. He’s that type of player where he finds space in the box and you can’t always coach that. You can’t pick and place people even from a set play. His job is to find space and anticipate and for his goal he does just that.
“He’s a boy that’s not had a lot of competitive football through his injuries and by not being selected. He’s the type of player worth persevering with because his sharpness is only going to get better as well as his all round game. He gets into those little positions, which leaves space for others and he can also have that threat in behind. There’s probably enough there to say that I quite like him and I know why I signed him.
“I don’t think in either game he’s been at his best, but I think he’s shown enough in both games of what he is. Even when Stevie isn’t up to speed and not at his best he will still score the winning goals. “Centre forward’s live and die for their goals and that’s the all-important thing for them.
“Stevie is the type of boy that even when he’s having a quiet game – Rooney and Maynard are similar – he can score the winning goal and those boys are worth their weight in gold.
“I think he will get up to speed quick, but we have to be fair to the lad that we don’t expect too much of him as he’s been out for a long time, but he can continue to contribute while he’s getting there as you seen today.
“Adam Rooney has had a full weeks training. He was on the bench last week at Ross County, but he had only had one and a bit days training before that game so it was great having him back in the squad last week. He’s had a good week’s work as he’s only back after three weeks out with a thigh strain. He’s another one that’s working his way back to his best, but it’s great to have those types of options. I do think they will be important to us throughout the course of the season.”
“Adam Rooney has had a full weeks training. He was on the bench last week at Ross County, but he had only had one and a bit days training before that game so it was great having him back in the squad last week. He’s had a good week’s work as he’s only back after three weeks out with a thigh strain. He’s another one that’s working his way back to his best, but it’s great to have those types of options. I do think they will be important to us throughout the course of the season.”
