Derek McInnes praised Niall McGinn after the Aberdeen forward helped the Dons go four points clear of his former club Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership with the opener in the 2-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley.
The Northern Ireland international was questioned by some after a photograph of him sitting among Hoops fans during Monday night’s 2-0 win at Kilmarnock was posted on social media by his agent.
However, the Pittodrie fans who made the journey to a frozen and blustery St Mirren Park sang McGinn’s praises before and during the game and were rewarded when he scored in the 31st minute.
Shay Logan doubled the visitors’ lead two minutes later before the Dons continued on to their eighth successive league victory without conceding a goal, to put pressure on the champions who are on a winter break in Gran Canaria.
McInnes said: “I thought Niall was outstanding. His performance was excellent but they usually are for me.
“The support was singing his name from the first minute which was pleasing for me.
“We were guilty of not giving him enough of the ball but any time he got the ball he skinned the full-back and he was still doing it at the death and setting up chances.
“I didn’t think he was any more determined, he always is determined.
“But I was delighted for him to score a goal. The conditions played a part in that but he still has to be positive and everything he did was positive.”