Aberdeen will go from facing Premiership leaders Celtic to bottom side Motherwell but Dons manager Derek McInnes expects another stern test against the Steelmen.
Ian Baraclough’s players ended an eight-game winless sequence with a 2-1 victory against Caley Thistle last weekend. Well head to Pittodrie on Friday in the next match for McInnes’ Reds, who have taken advantage of a free weekend to spend the week training in warmer climes in Tenerife.
But after suffering a 4-0 defeat by leaders Celtic, McInnes is already focused on a return to winning ways against Motherwell, who are desperate for points as they bid to escape the threat of relegation.
He said: “I watched Motherwell’s game against Inverness and you could see there was more energy and pace about them. They will have taken a great deal of confidence from picking up a good result against Inverness, who are never an easy side to beat.
“At this stage of the season, every team in the league is fighting for points, whether that is to stave off relegation, get into Europe or the top six or win a title. The points are important for everyone.
“The fact that Motherwell are fighting for their lives will make that challenge on Friday a little bit more difficult. But we aim to be difficult opponents regardless of who we play.
“They have another game to play before us against Kilmarnock but they have certainly improved. Bringing in a quality player like Scott McDonald means they have a greater goalscoring threat.”
McInnes, meanwhile, was disappointed by the manner in which his side slumped to defeat at Celtic Park last weekend.
The Dons manager felt his players allowed their performance to dip after conceding a second goal and the Hoops ran out comfortable 4-0 winners.
He added: “Anxiety came into the game when we went 2-0 down. We became disjointed and, ultimately, Celtic punished us for that. I was disappointed by the last half hour and our reaction to going 2-0 down.
“At 2-0 down you are still in the game but the players allowed that disappointment to affect their performance. We know that can’t be the case in the future.”