Derek McInnes says Aberdeen 'unravelled' against Celtic
The Dons could have drawn level with a win at Celtic Park but instead left six points adrift and now look unlikely to rein Ronny Deila’s team back in the final Premiership straight, with the Hoops having a game in hand against St Johnstone in midweek.
Aberdeen started well but were ripped apart in the second half and the 4-0 defeat brought an end to their 13-game unbeaten run.
McInnes said: “Celtic were in complete control of the game and took full advantage of our desperation to get back into it.
“We didn’t keep our discipline or shape and I felt we unravelled and were really untidy with our work.
“Celtic exploited that because they are a good team and showed exactly why they’re top of the league.
“They’re top of the league because they’ve got players who can exploit those moments of lack of concentration.”
McInnes knew the final outcome could have been very different if his team had got the goal their first-half performance had deserved.
Instead, they were left licking their wounds as they lost another cheap goal from a set piece against Celtic.
“The intention was always to try to impose ourselves on the game and not sit back and wait for things to happen,” the Aberdeen boss claimed.
“I thought the approach to game was excellent at the start and we had some strong performers in that period.
“We played a lot of the game in Celtic’s final third, which was our intention, to try to ask questions of them. We were maybe guilty of not making more of those opportunities. We had a lot of corners and free-kicks going into the box.
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“And that meant to lose a goal from their first corner kick was disappointing.
“It’s the third goal we’ve lost against Celtic from a corner this season in the three games, so it’s extremely disappointing.”
Losing three times to Celtic in the league has left McInnes’s side short and he knows there is still a lot more work to be done before they are considered genuine title contenders.
The Pittodrie manager said: “There is a lot to like about my team – I am not going to be too critical. I am always looking to improve them.
“Sometimes you have to go through disappointments to get stronger.
“We have a young team and I think the last disappointment was the semi-final against Dundee United, where the performance wasn’t too bad – but again we lost a goal from a set-play.
“There are thing we can improve on to make the next step.
“But I’m not going to sit here and be critical of my team because the fact you guys are here and excited about the game in March is because of their efforts and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
“We took a sore one today and Celtic deservedly won the game, but the players deserve a lot of credit and there is no criticism from me.”
McInnes decided to risk Jonny Hayes, who limped off with a calf injury, but he hopes it isn’t too serious.
“Jonny going off didn’t help matters as he was always going to be a key player in this game,” the manager said.
“He went off with a calf injury. He’d been getting treatment for his hamstring so it was a totally different injury.”
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