Derek McInnes feels Aberdeen’s injury situation easing will bring an upturn in performances.
James Wilson coming through the last three games unscathed has given the Dons manager cause for optimism, while Lewis Ferguson returns from a knee injury for today’s game with St Mirren and Scott Wright is due back after the international break from his ankle knock.
Aberdeen head into today’s game in the bottom half of the table, with nine points from seven games and they sit two points below Steven Gerrard’s Rangers in sixth. McInnes points to consistency of selection not playing in the Dons’ favour, which he hopes comes to an end soon.
He said: “James being available for the last three games has helped us at the other end of the pitch and young Lewis coming back is important. Young Scott Wright will be available after the break so the injury situation is starting to alleviate a wee bit and hopefully good results will come.
“We are still putting points on the board but we understand that once we get that settled team on the pitch we feel that there will be more three points to be earned than picking up points here and there. The win at Easter Road was important for us to give us confidence, momentum and a clean sheet. We were also very close to getting another clean sheet at Celtic Park on Saturday. I thought the performance was good. Having that settled back line was important to us again and I think you can see the benefit of having a settled team.”
St Mirren head to the Granite City with new manager Oran Kearney keen to steer them away from the bottom end of the table after replacing Alan Stubbs. McInnes feels the Northern Irishman is already starting to give the Buddies a new identity.
McInnes added: “Other than the Hamilton game, the Celtic and Hibs games it was clear there is a way of playing there to be a bit more solid and compact while also trying to counter a bit more. I thought they did that well against Celtic and it took a set-play for Hibs to beat them on Saturday.
“They are not as open as they were, they are staying in the game more and we will need that balance of patience and trying to play at the right tempo to try and play round that compact shape. I think it is clear the manager has gone in and is getting to know his players but is trying to make them as difficult to play against as possible.”