Aberdeen winger Greg Stewart is targeting maximum points from his side’s next two games to ensure the Dons go into the winter break no worse than eight points behind leaders Celtic.
The Dons will look to bounce back against Partick Thistle at Pittodrie tomorrow after their three-game winning run ended with a 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday.
The on-loan Birmingham City player felt his side played better against Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops than the eventual scoreline suggested.
He said: “It was frustrating.
“When we played Celtic at home and lost 3-0, there was only one team that deserved to win.
“On Saturday, the game could have gone our way with a bit more luck but it just wasn’t to be.
“We are eight points behind Celtic but hopefully we can go into the next two games against Partick Thistle and Hearts upbeat and take maximum points.
“We just need to be positive about the first half performance against Celtic as well as parts of the second half.
“We just need to keep beating the other teams and hope that somebody can take points off Celtic.”
However Stewart accepted that denying Celtic a seventh consecutive Scottish Premiership title will be a tough ask for Derek McInnes’ Dons, who finished 30 points behind the Parkhead club last season as they finished runners-up for the third year in a row.
The former Dundee player said: “Realistically, second spot is what we are aiming for.
“But you never know, Celtic may slip up.
“We just need to keep winning.
“Someone who didn’t watch our game against Celtic will have thought it was an easy win.
“That wasn’t how we felt and I am sure there were some Celtic fans who felt the same.
“I thought Celtic started well in the first 10 minutes and then we took the ascendancy for the next 25 minutes.
“We pressed them well and started to believe we would take something from it.
“You need to score when you are in the ascendancy against Celtic. We needed that little bit of luck.
“Instead we went 1-0 down at half-time.
“We never quite got going in the second half but we had a couple of chances.
“But it ended in a defeat and we now need to focus on the next two games.
“It will be two difficult matches against Partick and Hearts but we are looking for maximum points.”