Aberdeen midfielder Niall McGinn believes there is much more to come from his team after they equalled last season’s points tally with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Kilmarnock yesterday.
Cammy Smith headed home the winning goal as the Dons moved on to 68 points – five behind leaders Celtic – after Craig Slater had cancelled out Adam Rooney’s first-half opener.
The Dons have matched last season’s haul with six matches remaining and McGinn believes his side deserves plenty of plaudits for the consistency shown throughout the league campaign.
He said: “It has been unbelievable. We have been very good all season and we just want to improve.
“Between now and the end of the season, we want to win as many games as possible, even though we know they will be tough.
“But they are ones we are capable of winning.
“There have been frustrating games recently, such as the Partick Thistle and Dundee games, but we have definitely bounced back and have opened up a gap between ourselves and Inverness.
“We are definitely improving on last season and we have a lot to play for with the remaining games.
“We just have to make sure we keep enjoying our football.”
Northern Ireland international McGinn produced a man of the match display at Rugby Park and was instrumental in both Aberdeen goals.
The 27-year-old takes just as much pleasure from setting up goals as he does from scoring.
He said: “I was talking in the dressing room about how many assists I have this season and I am up at the 18 mark, including the cup.
“It is pretty incredible.
“It is nice to set up goals and win games. It makes me very happy to be involved as well as scoring sometimes as well.”
The Dons had a fortunate escape against Killie in the final minute when Scott Brown saved a Slater penalty after the Dons goalkeeper had fouled former Aberdeen forward Lee Miller.
McGinn added: “We were a bit frustrated we weren’t two or three up at half time. We started the game well with a few chances with some good balls into the box.
“We knew Kilmarnock would come back at us in the second half and when they scored, it made for an interesting finish.
“It was good to see Scott Brown redeeming himself with the penalty save.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game because Kilmarnock like to keep the ball and play good football at times.
“But we knew if we kept playing well and took our chances then we’d win the game. Thankfully we did that.”