McInnes rails against the ‘Sack Race’

Derek McInnes has defended under-fire Premiership managers, branding speculation over early-season sackings “ridiculous”.

Just five weeks into the campaign, Pat Fenlon of Hibs and St Mirren’s Danny Lennon have both been touted as ‘Sack Race’ favourites.

That has irritated the Aberdeen boss, who believes no manager should have to worry about losing their job so early in the season.

“It’s ridiculous that any manager should be under pressure this early, said McInnes.

“So you’d like to think there are good people in charge of clubs who see the bigger picture.

“You’re looking for good judgment from the people with the power to make these calls. You want calmness and an ability not to react to what is an emotional game.

“But I do believe that four or five games into a campaign, there’s not a lot of sense in changing a manager.

“Every boss looks for that backing from above because all it takes is a couple of good results on the bounce and a team can be on their way again.

“That’s how finely balanced it is.”

Finely balanced is also a perfect summation of Aberdeen’s start to the season.

Two wins, two losses and a draw see the Dons occupying sixth place after five games.

McInnes is reasonably content with that, but he insists there is more to come as the season progresses.

He said: “There’s work to be done and progress to be made. But, overall, I’m relatively happy with what we’re seeing.

“It’s been disappointing to pick up injuries to some key players (Willo Flood, Barry Robson and Jonny Hayes), but we’re going to be getting a couple of those back sometime soon.

“I think most teams would struggle with missing three or four key players from the same area of the team, but over the piece there have been a lot of encouraging performances.

“So in the main, we’re reasonably happy with how we’ve started but we’re still looking for improvement.”

If that improvement comes, it will require more ruthlessness in front of goal.

Against Kilmarnock, Hearts and St Johnstone, the Dons carved out enough opportunities to win by miles, but didn’t put them away.

McInnes isn’t worried by that, however. In fact, he reckons it’s only a matter of time until the chances turn to goals.

“We have got improvements to make, from set-pieces and the like,” said McInnes.

“We have to make sure that when we’re in and around the opposition’s goal, whether it’s from set plays or open play, we carry more potency.

“I’m confident our players will start to put those chances away.

“We’re still looking for the right mix at the minute, but I certainly think we’ve got players who can score goals.”