Aberdeen midfielder Jamie McGrath insists his captain Graeme Shinnie is a “priceless member” of the Dons squad.
Shinnie has come in for criticism from a section of the Dons support on social media with some questioning whether his powers are on the wane following Sunday’s League Cup final defeat by Rangers at Hampden.
But ahead of tonight’s Premiership match against Livingston, McGrath, who was Shinnie’s room-mate at Wigan Athletic prior to the duo linking up again at Pittodrie this summer, has issued a strong defence of his skipper.
He said: “I don’t pay too much attention to social media – and I don’t think any of the players so.
“You can be great one week and the worst player in the world the next, so it’s about trying to find a happy medium.
“We’re not daft. We know the form Shinnie is in, his workrate, the way he leads on and off the pitch – He’s priceless.
“To have someone like him alongside us… you can’t put a price on that.”
Shinnie described the season as “gruelling” following Sunday’s Hampden loss and McGrath agreed the demands placed on the squad have been difficult at times.
He said: “The season has been tough on the whole squad. Some weeks you have felt leggy and that’s the reality of what we’ve faced.
“But we’re now looking to build momentum in the league and pick-up more points.”
Dons looking to regroup following cup final defeat
There has been much reflection at Cormack Park following the 1-0 loss to Rangers on Sunday, but McGrath believes there was little between the sides at Hampden.
He said: “It’s sombre after losing a cup final. When you have your family over for the weekend, you have high hopes going into the game and it’s sore when you lose it.
“On the day, we didn’t put on our best performance. Cup finals are edgy and there was always going to be just one goal in it.
“We gave ourselves a great chance up until the 75th minute.
“The last 15 minutes was when it opened up, but up until then there wasn’t much between us.
“Kelle Roos made a couple of saves from James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers, but there was little in it. They got their noses in front and it was up to us to push from there.
“On another day we could have had a penalty, which could have taken the final to extra-time.”
Dons left frustrated by non-VAR calls against Rangers
The Republic of Ireland international pointed to the missed tug on Stefan Gartenmann’s shirt and the late foul on team-mate Duk – both inside the Rangers area – as a sign of how slim the margins were between the teams at the national stadium.
He said: “On another day the decisions go our way and we get a result, but it wasn’t to be.
“If (VAR) is there, you may as well use it.
“I don’t know if they looked at the penalty incident (involving Duk) as it seems they were checking for a red card during the aftermath.
“All you can ask for is consistency.
“If it’s a pull on the shirt given one week and not given the next, you wonder why as a player.
“It’s very frustrating in a cup final when the little margins mean everything.
“I don’t know why they didn’t look at the Duk one, as for me it’s a stonewaller. He taps it in if the challenge isn’t made.”
‘We’re looking to get back to winning ways’
The Dons squad may have been left to ponder what might have been, but McGrath knows it is important his side move on from their Hampden heartache when Livingston visit Pittodrie tonight.
Livi are bottom of the Premiership, while the Dons are in 10th and McGrath knows it is vital his side finds some consistency in the league.
He said: “It’s nice to have a game to turn our minds around to. Had we not been playing until the weekend the week would have dragged on.
“As it is, we have tomorrow night to look forward to and we’re looking to get back to winning ways.
“We’ve won the last two at home and we’re looking to go on a run and make Pittodrie a fortress.
“We need to go again. It’s a great opportunity to extend that home run, but Livi will be coming up to make it hard for us.
“They’ve been very unlucky in their recent games and there’s only been a goal in it in their games.
“I was there myself with Dundee United last season and I’m sure they will be looking to change their fortune here tomorrow.
“We know how tight the league is this year, and if you put a run together, you can jump the table quickly.
“On the flip side, if you don’t get results, you can drop quickly.
“It’s the tightest league I’ve seen in my time in Scotland, but now the cup and European games are over, I’m sure we can put a run together.
“We want to pick up momentum now in the league, because we have to look to start climbing the league and catching the teams above us.”
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