Aberdeen assistant manager Tony Docherty has warned the Dons they will have to match the determination of a St Mirren side trying to keep its manager in a job.
The Buddies have yet to win a game this season and their manager Danny Lennon is under pressure to halt the slide against the Dons at Paisley tonight.
Docherty knows Lennon and his players will have extra motivation. He said: “They will be desperate to get their first win and will do everything they can to get it. I don’t expect anything different at St Mirren Park.
“They have a cause to win this match and we have a cause to keep our run going. It will be a good game and we expect a really competitive team and we will need to try to counter that. It does happen now and again that a manager is under pressure but Danny is experienced enough. He has been in for a while now and will cope with that and try to get his team ready.”
Confidence is high at Pittodrie following three wins in a row. Dons manager Derek McInnes and Docherty have impressed supporters with their attacking approach but the assistant was quick to praise the players for their application since the new management team arrived in April, with the younger members of the squad in particular earning praise.
He said: “There is a good feeling and buzz about the place which you do get when you win games. Winning breeds confidence. We are scoring goals and keeping clean sheets and we are in a good place.
“From a coaching point of view, it is most satisfying when you get a result that matches the performance. It is great when you get both, like we did against Falkirk. You saw in our performance we have a highly motivated group of young players. Six of the starting 11 came through the youth system. The average age of the team was 22. I was very proud of our youngsters.”
Match focus, Pages 62, 63