Derek McInnes hails Aberdeen win over Inverness

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes was delighted with the win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle which keeps the Dons second, moving them 11 points clear of their rivals.

Ash Taylor's second half header separated the sides in the Scottish Premiership clash at Pittodrie and McInnes said: "We had to show an improvement from Saturday as that wasn't good enough.

"John (Hughes) and his side are our biggest challengers for second spot, and it was important to win."

The former St Johnstone boss admitted his side had suffered a hangover from their recent defeat to Celtic, saying: "There has been a feeling of disappointment since the Celtic game and performances since then haven't been good enough.

"It says a lot that second is seen as a disappointment to them, but there's a lot to be pleased about.

"We want to finish second but there's still a lot to do and I don't think we were convincing towards the end of last season. There's always demand on an Aberdeen player to keep winning, and that's what we'll try to do."

Inverness boss John Hughes admitted Aberdeen deserved to win but challenged his side to maintain their consistency until the end of the season.

"Aberdeen deserved to win the match," he said. "I felt we were a match for them in the first half, but I was disappointed we lost a goal from a set-piece early in the second half - and Aberdeen went on to be the better team.

"In terms of effort and commitment I can't ask any more of the players. In terms of having a belief and making something happen, we were lacking. In terms of having the ability to make something happen, we're a bit short on that front at the moment.

"There's a disappointment there and a frustration. I'm watching as a coach and I'm intrigued to see how the rest of the season pans out. Do our players have the belief to keep playing and go and be a match-winner?

"We weren't far away tonight, but we're better and have another couple of gears to go, especially against what I saw in the second half tonight."