Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup defeat to Dundee has been the only minor blip in an otherwise excellent season, but manager Derek McInnes is confident his players learned a valuable lesson from their disappointment.
The Dons dominated the game at Dens Park, but were defeated 2-1 in November’s fourth round match after David Clarkson’s last-minute winner for the Dark Blues.
Since that defeat, McInnes’ men have embarked on a flawless run which has now reached eight successive wins in the league without the concession of a single goal.
Paul Hartley’s team is the next to try to halt Aberdeen when they visit Pittodrie on Saturday, but McInnes believes a similar performance from his top of the table team to the one at Dens on November 29 last year can generate a different outcome.
The Aberdeen manager said: “The team has showed it has learned from that match and we are managing games a lot better.
“In the cup game we were guilty of a lack of concentration rather than a lack of performance as I thought we were excellent during the 90 minutes.
“If we can get close to that performance and keep the concentration levels as high as they have been for eight weeks in a row then I will be more than happy.
“Dundee have some good players who can be match-winners.
“They were on a poor run but they have addressed that and defeated Motherwell 4-1 last weekend, which was a very good result.
“That makes them a bit more dangerous come Saturday, but we just have to make sure our performance is strong enough to give us a chance of winning.”
Since November’s defeat at Dundee, McInnes has used the same starting XI in every match except for last month’s 1-0 win at Caley Thistle when Craig Murray stepped in for the injured right back Shay Logan.
The Dons manager believes continuity has been an important factor in the recent success.
He added: “I don’t think a consistency of selection has done any harm.
“When the team is playing well and with confidence it does make it easier when it comes to selection.
“There are a few players pushing for a start, but I do feel that consistency has helped.
“We are delighted with what the players are giving us and being on a run like this the next game can’t come quickly enough.”