MX23RW : Friday, December 13 20:50:57| >> :600:141201:141201:
[monks data]
Attendance: 49,992
Rangers logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 7
Sep 28, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
Aberdeen logo

5-0

Tavernier (20' pen., 71' pen.), Stewart (40'), Morelos (50'), Defoe (80')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Derek McInnes: 'Aberdeen must have confidence to beat Rangers'

Derek McInnes: 'Aberdeen must have confidence to beat Rangers'
© Reuters
James Wilson will miss Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership encounter at Ibrox with a knee strain.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has urged his players to maintain their confidence against Rangers despite seeing their injury situation further deteriorate.

James Wilson will miss Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership encounter at Ibrox with a knee strain while fellow forward Connor McLennan is struggling with a dead leg.

Defenders Scott McKenna and Ash Taylor were already missing along with midfielders Stephen Gleeson, Funso Ojo, Craig Bryson and Scott Wright.

McInnes believes Rangers have made improvements over the summer but the Dons are looking to carry on a good record against Steven Gerrard's men.

Aberdeen only lost two out of seven encounters last season and knocked Rangers out of both cups.

McInnes said: "We have got to make sure that we go down to the game confident that we can still get a result as we did last year on a number of occasions.

"I remember going down there after losing the cup final to Celtic and winning midweek when the odds were against us, and winning games there with 10 men.

"We have had adversity to deal with in the past and we probably have a wee bit of that to deal with at the minute with the injury situation. But we know that we can go down there and still put in a performance that can hopefully get a positive result against a very good Rangers team."

McInnes, whose side lost on penalties to Hearts in the Betfred Cup on Wednesday, added: "We still have a good team out there.

"The team that started, there was still a decent balance about it the other night. Players are getting opportunities and we find out a wee bit more about one or two of the younger ones.

"There will still be a team out there who has got a good balance about it and is good enough to try and get a result."

Despite their injury difficulties, Aberdeen sit third in the Premiership and could move to just a point behind second-placed Rangers.

McInnes said: "Rangers have improved and we put a squad together in the summer. Rangers have spent a lot of money on their squad and you can see that in it.

"We spent £125,000 in the summer and we don't have Ojo fit until January.

"We have tried to make those improvements (after) losing key players.

"The time to judge my squad and wherever they have improved is at the end of the season.

"Certainly, these games are a real test for us. The players always look forward to these games."

ID:373069: cacheID:373069:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4548:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Steven Naismith in action for Hearts on October 28, 2018
Read Next:
Hearts struggling with injuries ahead of Aberdeen clash
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Rams
@
49ers
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1514104444043
2Aberdeen16104230181234
3RangersRangers1510232791832
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd156632215724
5Motherwell157171823-522
6Dundee165472729-219
7St Mirren165381926-718
8Ross County163671230-1815
9St Johnstone1642101829-1114
10Kilmarnock163581734-1714
11Hearts163491825-713
12Hibernian162681828-1012


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!