Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes insists there is no panic at Pittodrie following back-to-back defeats in Glasgow.
The Dons have been criticised after losing to Celtic and Rangers but as his Reds prepare for three home games in a week McInnes believes there is no cause for alarm.
On criticism of his side McInnes said: “I’m quite relaxed about it. Sometimes we can get too much praise when things go well and sometimes the criticism can be too strong when things don’t go well.
“We’ve lost two games in Glasgow in the space of a week when we’ve gone there with high expectations but at least we can say we are going there with those expectations now and that’s why the defeats feel so bad.
“We’ve lost to a team unbeaten at home for 31 games and we’ve lost a cup final to Celtic. There’s no huge panic to losing those two games but it is disappointing as we expect more of ourselves and want to do better.
“We don’t normally lose two games back-to-back but we’ve played Celtic twice and our nearest rivals twice and the teams around us have still to play each other so that’s a factor, too.”
McInnes shares in the disappointment of Dons supporters at seeing the Reds fail to make the most of their opportunities to beat Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday but there is little time for his players to lick their wounds with Kilmarnock visiting Pittodrie tonight.
The Dons face a testing three games in the next seven days, with St Johnstone also visiting Pittodrie on Saturday before former Dons manager Mark head north next Tuesday.
McInnes said: “Saturday was a game where we set out with a team to try to be as aggressive as we could without the ball initially and one which would give us a foothold to go and win the game.
“We did one aspect in that we didn’t give Rangers any control but we didn’t give ourselves enough opportunities in the final third and we spoke about it at half-time.
“We came out strong in the second half but we didn’t take the chance through Jayden Stockley and then Rangers got a bit of good fortune with the ball falling for Kenny Miller.
“When you go to Ibrox, where there are 49,000 Rangers supporters there, it is important to strike the first blow. We were close to doing that but we didn’t take our chances and it came back to bite us, but we move on.”
Niall McGinn is in contention to return for the Dons, who are without captain Ryan Jack following his red card at Ibrox on Saturday.
