Aberdeen icon Willie Miller has slaughtered Derek McInnes’ Dons side after they failed to produce against Celtic.
The Hoops turned on the style in the Granite City on Sunday. Four first-half goals were enough to totally deflate any confidence Aberdeen had at the start of the contest.
Even at 4-0, it was played at a training pace by Neil Lennon’s side. McInnes’ Dons just couldn’t lay anything on us, and there was a notable lack of aggression in how they approached the midfield battle.
Miller couldn’t believe what we was watching. He was furious during the game as he was on the BBC Sportsound panel (BBC Radio Scotland, 27/10. 12:00). And in his Aberdeen Evening Express column, he continued to vent his anger at the performance.
“After their sparkling display and comprehensive win at Motherwell, I was feeling optimistic. However, the performance yesterday was about as bad as it could’ve been.
“Firstly, listening to Derek McInnes, he’s been honest enough to admit the root of the 4-0 hammering at the hands of the Hoops was his own team’s passivity. Right from the start, Aberdeen gave Celtic time to pass the ball unhindered.
“It was just insipid in the first half from Aberdeen. And I don’t think they were much better in the second period, the difference being Lennon’s team thought they could take their foot off the pedal and cruise. But in the first half, the Dons were spectators.”
Have Celtic broken Aberdeen?
There’s validity in this. McInnes has only beaten Celtic four times and has lost to us on 20 occasions with Aberdeen. In many of those defeats, the Dons came into the contests full of bravado.
Whilst there wasn’t a lot of chest-puffing from them ahead of Sunday, they were certainly still confident. Their terrific performance at Motherwell helped to boost their confidence heading into the weekend. We were still apparently going to have to produce something full of quality in order to win this one.
In fairness to Celtic, that’s what they did do. But the lack of fight from the Dons has McInnes under pressure. Some supporters have even been calling for his head despite previously finishing second and third in the Premiership table respectively.
There’s an argument there to suggest McInnes deserves more slack. That’s probably true. He’s taken Aberdeen into Europe almost annually, and consistently has them fighting at the top end of the table. He deserves credit for the job he’s done there when you consider where they were before he arrived.
But their failure to land anything on Celtic has been a constant source of frustration to their supporters. As a club, we’ve almost single-handedly managed to turn the fans on McInnes. They continue to hit their glass ceiling, with Celtic constantly looking down on them.
Sunday was just the latest example of the gulf between the teams. However, as for McInnes, he’s struggling to find sympathy from many in his own support.
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