Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes believes his players should be undeterred for the season ahead after their 4-1 defeat by Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic.
Saturday’s loss extended Aberdeen’s wait for a league victory at Celtic Park to 23 matches with goals from Leigh Griffiths, James Forrest, Scott Sinclair and Tom Rogic giving the Hoops victory.
The Dons ended the match with 10 men when Mark Reynolds was dismissed for a second bookable offence for the foul which resulted in Sinclair’s late penalty.
Adam Rooney’s first-half equaliser was Aberdeen’s only shot on target throughout the 90 minutes – but manager McInnes was encouraged by the way his Reds matched Brendan Rodgers’ men for parts of the second half before eventually buckling under two late goals.
After a tough start to the season where the Reds have taken five points from their opening four fixtures to sit seventh in the table, McInnes is confident his side will start heading in the right direction soon.
He said: “You need to concentrate for 90 minutes whenever you play Celtic but we’ve had some great periods there in the past, spells where we’ve blown Celtic away but not taken our chances.
“Celtic ask questions of you for 90 minutes, so you always have to have your wits about you and make sure you are always doing the right thing.
“They are a team in this division that will punish a lack of organisation or lack of communication.
“We saw that with Leigh Griffiths’ goal.
“We have had good passages of play at Celtic Park before and, at 2-1 down, I did feel it was the most comfortable we’ve been here. I enjoyed watching my team at that stage, how aggressive we were with our work and how committed we were to getting a second goal.
“The improvement is clear from Celtic this season with their new manager, their signings and the confidence he’s put into them.
“But, for me, that was a decent reference because I can see the improvement in my team and that we can still win games like this. That gives me encouragement.
“We have had a tough start to the league playing Celtic, St Johnstone and Hearts but I am confident we have a lot to look forward to as a team.”
