Aberdeen centre-back Ross McCrorie insists boss Jim Goodwin was right to set up defensively against Celtic.
The Dons have been criticised in the aftermath of the 1-0 loss to Celtic for a lack of attacking intent.
Goodwin’s side had just 19.4% of possession to Celtic’s 80.6% in the Pittodrie clash.
Aberdeen mustered just two shots at goal, both off target, with Celtic having 33 shots.
Supporters made their frustration at the tactics clear at full-time as the Dons’ five game winning league streak at home came to a grinding halt.
McCrorie reckons Goodwin was right to be cautious because you can’t go “gung ho” against the defending champions.
And he says Goodwin’s tactics were close to paying off – until an 87th minute winner from Callum McGregor.
McCrorie said: “It’s up to the gaffer.
“Whatever he tells us to do we go out and do the game plan the best we can.
“I don’t think the style of play really matters, it’s the result at the end of the day.
“We were very unlucky to not come away with a point.
“You need to look at the fact we were up against a top quality side and you can’t go gung-ho every time against these teams.
“We did that against Rangers at Ibrox (4-1 loss, October) and it was a sore one.
“We had our game plan (against Celtic) and stuck to it.
“I thought the boys did really well at times.
“It was just really unfortunate to lose that goal in the last few minutes.”
Players have full trust in the manager
In the aftermath of the Celtic defeat boss Goodwin called for any criticism from supporters to be directed at him, not the players.
There has been criticism fr0m the Red Army after a home game where the Dons failed to register a shot on target.
McCrorie said: “Look, the players have got full trust in the manager.
“He’s been excellent since he came in.
“We’ve had a really good first half of the season.
“We’ve a tough couple of fixtures in Celtic and Rangers.
“There’s no getting away from the fact the gaffer has been great since he came in.”
Different style of play and game plan
Prior to the Celtic defeat Aberdeen had been in red hot form at Pittodrie.
The Dons had won six of seven Premiership home games, netting 22 times.
Against Celtic the Dons utilized a back five that sat very deep.
With Aberdeen carrying so potent a threat at home this season was it hard to curb attacking instincts?
Vice captain McCrorie said: “You’ve got to look at the team you’re playing against.
“Celtic are a top side and they have top quality players within their ranks.
“It’s hard to attack as much as we want to when they’re attacking you just as much.
“So sometimes you’re going to have a different style of play and game plan and that’s what we did.
“It was frustrating to lose a goal in the last few minutes as a team.
“We defended really well for large parts and limited them to chances.
“It took a wonder strike for them to score and win.”
Dons needed to be better on the ball
Aberdeen’s only attacking outlet was Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes long runs from deep.
Leading scorer Bojan Miovski cut an isolated figure with a thankless task of trying to win long balls upfield.
McCrorie said: “At times I felt we could have kept the ball better.
“Duk was excellent up top and he was getting us up the pitch at times.
“We just didn’t maybe get him enough support at times and we could have been a lot better on the ball.
“But we’re a young side and we showed we can defend as a team and it’s something we can learn from.”
Find a plan for how to ‘hurt’ Rangers
Next up for Aberdeen is a clash against second placed Rangers at Pittodrie on Tuesday night.
The Reds lost 4-1 to Rangers at Ibrox in October when going ‘”gung-ho” with attacking, open tactics.
McCrorie insists the Dons will come up with a plan to “hurt” Rangers.
He said: “It’s another big team coming.
“Rangers have got a new gaffer (Michael Beale) so they’ll have a wee bounce in their step.
“They obviously got a good result the other night (3-2 defeat of Hibs).
“They’ll have a different style I’d imagine with Michael Beale coming in.
“It’s something we need to look at and we’ll analyze their game against Hibs and see where we can hurt them.”
No concerns about fixture schedule
Aberdeen will face Rangers just three days after the Celtic clash.
McCrorie insists the tight timeframe is no issue.
He said: “We’re all professional footballers and fit enough.
“We’ve got a fit team and a young team and we’re all looking forward to it.”
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