Derek McInnes not pressing panic button despite first defeat of season

Hearts boss Derek McInnes insists a first William Hill Premiership defeat of the season is not a disaster, after Topi Keskinen’s first half Aberdeen goal gave the Dons a hard-fought win over the Jambos.

Keskinen struck after a fine Dante Polvara pass over the top, taking advantage of a kind ricochet before curling low into the far corner of the net.

And McInnes said: “I thought we were decent throughout the game to be honest. If you don’t take the chances here, if you don’t show the quality and composure needed to win here at Pittodrie then you run the risk of losing the game.

“We didn’t have too much to do defensively, but we lose the goal on a transition. We give the ball away 20-30 yards into their half, it’s one pass forward and before we know it we’re in a difficult position.

“We felt like we had good control in the game, particularly in the second half, stats don’t matter if you’ve not got the quality. The boys have the quality, it’s been on show all season, but they weren’t quite on point.

“That’s always going to happen, you’re always going to lose a game. We thought we’d done enough today not to lose. I was actually quite encouraged by the performance today without Lawrence [Shankland] and Craig Halkett.”

On Shankland’s absence, McInnes added “He’s got a scan tomorrow. I spoke to him this morning and he felt better. He said that it doesn’t feel too significant.”

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin remains grounded about his side’s improvement over the last few weeks, but is pleased with the upward trajectory of his side.

He commented: “We are a hardworking team with a lot of good characters, and we had a lot of new players over the summer. The last six games, it’s four wins, one draw and one loss. In a difficult situation, the players are showing a lot of spirit and responsibility.

“You always get what you deserve and a lot of players have grown in this context. If you can stay focused under a lot of pressure as the players have been, and I;’m happy and pleased for the players because their hard work is showing.

“Topi [Keskinen] has played a lot before, but not so much in the last six games. Instead of complaining, he’s been working hard and when the time comes he showed he wants to play.

“It’s still early in the season and there’s a lot of big games in front of us now. The thing is to be consistent.

“Today was a good game, really intense. Where the team really has grown is in not getting stressed when the opponent has a lot of momentum.”