Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes: One-club city can strangle and choke my players

DEREK MCINNES has paid tribute to his players for coping with the pressure of playing for Aberdeen.

The Pittodrie boss says he relishes the pressure that comes with his job — even when a wave of criticism came his way after a recent run of mediocre results.

Beating Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup quarter-final replay in midweek has given the Dons a massive lift, and kept alive their hopes of having some silverware to show for their efforts this season.

It has gone some way to vindicating McInnes’ decision to stay where he was after Rangers had been tipped to instal him as Pedro Caixinha’s successor.

Some argued that he would not have taken to living in a goldfish bowl as Ibrox boss.

But McInnes maintains there is plenty of pressure on him at Aberdeen, and that not everyone understands what it’s like to be in the spotlight in Scotland’s third-largest city.

He said: “I want to work for a club that has a demand, and so should my players.

“Why just go and manage and play for clubs that don’t expect anything?

“You’ve got to keep doing the work. Sometimes in a one-club city, the demand and the quest for success is in danger of strangling and choking the players.

“It’s not always a help to them, but that’s the way it is.

“I think that it’s important for us to stay calm and just try to work harder through situations.

“Tuesday’s victory gives us the chance of winning a cup – we want to get to a cup final.”

McInnes has been firmly in the spotlight since he decided, after a short delay, not to speak to Rangers about their managerial vacancy.

That ‘will-he-or-won’t he’ spell gave his critics extra ammunition when difficult times came along.

He went on: “Management is tough these days, but when you manage a club like Aberdeen, you have to take the rough with the smooth.

“I have always tried to remain calm when we have had three or four bad results

“We also never get too giddy when we have done well because the belt in the mouth is always just around the corner.”

McInnes, who celebrates five years in charge of Aberdeen next Sunday, is adamant better days lie ahead for the club.

Last season, they were runners-up to Celtic in all three domestic competitions.

Maintaining that status as the second force in Scottish football was always going to be a big ask.

This term, McInnes argues, success has to be achieved during a re-building process.

He said: “This is the squad’s first year. It was a rebuilding job in the summer.

“We were a pass away from winning the Scottish Cup last year. It was inches from Jonny Hayes finding Kenny McLean.

“There was then a natural parting of the ways, with half of my outfield team leaving.

“But we have remained competitive. This is our sixth semi-final in five years.

“This is the start of a new squad we are building, and I am learning about my players every day.

“I learned a lot about them on Tuesday at Rugby Park. They need to learn about us and the demands of the club.”

Defender Andy Considine knows all about the pressure on an Aberdeen player after 14 years in red and white.

He hopes reaching the Scottish Cup semi-final – where they will face Motherwell at Hampden on April 14 – can be a turning point in their season.

Although league business will now take priority, the 30-year-old can’t hide his excitement at the thought of winning the Scottish Cup.

Considine said: “It would be incredible. You could see what winning at Kilmarnock meant at the end of the game.

“We’ve had our doubters, but we have a great bunch of boys and a really strong squad.

“It’s the whole romance of the cup. I was praying for someone to step up and score before it went to penalty-kicks.

“The manager has done a great job of re-building the squad, and it would good to repay him with some more silverware

“I remember the 2013 League Cup quarter-final at Fir Park, where we were down to 10 men for 75 minutes. But I scored and we won 2-0.

“I like to think that was me being a piece in the puzzle that helped the team go on and win the cup that season.

“Hopefully the boys who put their penalties away at Rugby Park can be another piece in the puzzle this time.”