Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dons manager insists his squad is ready for test of endurance in December

Derek McInnes
Derek McInnes

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has challenged every player in his squad to play a part in the run of fixtures in December.

It’s two down but six to go for the Dons after they put their defeat to Rangers at Ibrox last weekend behind them by beating Kilmarnock 5-1 at Pittodrie on Tuesday.

The games come thick and fast for McInnes’ men with St Johnstone visiting Pittodrie tomorrow before former manager Mark McGhee brings his Motherwell side north on Tuesday.

McInnes knows the schedule is one which will test his squad depth to the full.

He said: “Playing eight games in a month is a strain on supporters and the players, but it is why we have a squad for a period like this and I would expect the squad to be used over the next few games.

“December is a busy period for a lot of teams, but we have a run of games at home and we are trying to maximise that advantage.”

Aberdeen’s immediate aim this month is to regain second place and with Rangers facing Hearts this weekend the Dons could find themselves back in pursuit of leaders Celtic if they beat St Johnstone tomorrow.

McInnes has urged his players to focus on their performance with maximum points in the next two games guaranteeing a return to second, irrespective of tomorrow’s result at Ibrox.

The Aberdeen manager, who will have captain Ryan Jack, pictured below, back from suspension for the visit of Saints, said: “We’re always confident, especially at home, as we expect to win games here.

“We’ve only lost once at home this season and that was to Celtic so we have reason to be confident when facing any team at Pittodrie.

“We know if we win the next two games, which we are more than capable of doing, we’re back in second spot behind a team who appear to be way ahead of everyone else at the moment.

“We will need to play well and while it’s important not to look too far ahead, of the eight games we have in December, four are at home and we’re normally strong at home and confident here.”