Scottish Premiership: Derek McInnes praises Aberdeen after win over St Johnstone

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes was full of praise for his team after they moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a 2-0 victory over St Johnstone.

Despite dominating the match, the home side only had a David Goodwillie goal to show for their efforts going into the latter stages at Pittodrie.

But Aberdeen held their nerve and secured victory in stoppage-time when they struck on a counter-attack through substitute Cammy Smith.

McInnes said: "We can't deny that is a great feeling to be at the top of the league.

"We said it was all about the game today and that it was another three points up for grabs, just like any other game, but that extra bit of motivation to go top of the league is something that the players recognised.

"I think it showed in their performance that it was important for them to go top and that is really pleasing for me.

"The players looked ready to play today, even before we knew about the Celtic game being postponed, and it was a top performance. It just shows what they are capable of and they should feel good about themselves tonight."

Calm

Aberdeen are next in action at struggling Motherwell on Sunday, a day before Celtic go to Kilmarnock, and they could extend their lead at the summit to four points, but McInnes is keeping calm.

McInnes said: "I think myself, the players, the staff and the support are all just looking forward to the next game. I think when you are on a winning run, the next game cannot come quickly enough and that is the case for us.

"We are enjoying the feeling of winning and we want that to continue."

No complaints

St Johnstone counterpart manager Tommy Wright, had no complaints with the outcome but expected more from his team after arriving in the Granite City chasing a club record of six straight wins in the top flight.

Wright said: "We made it easy for Aberdeen and did not play particularly well, which was the disappointing thing from our point of view.

"When you give a side like that a foothold in the game they can be very good and that was exactly what they were.

"I was pleased that we kept it to 1-0 for as long as we did and towards the end we thought we could sneak a point. Obviously it would not have been deserved but by keeping the score at 1-0, we were still in the game with the hope of taking something.

"We committed everybody forward at the end and as a result of that, Aberdeen scored their second and 2-0 was probably not a true reflection of the game overall."