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Derek McInnes said he enjoyed being Rangers manager for the first time after his side rebounded from their disaster in Jablonec with a narrow win at Pittodrie.
Under fire after losing a second successive European tie, the former Aberdeen manager had Lawrence Shankland to thank for converting a second half penalty which secured a first league triumph of the season.
Lacking in spirit as they lost on penalties in the Czech Republic in the Conference League, McInnes’ men showed their battling qualities to edge out Aberdeen.
‘Strong performance, deserved win,’ McInnes reflected. ‘I thought we were good in the game. I thought we looked like a team, a sense of the team that I would like us to be.
‘Any sort of win today was vitally important for obvious reasons. So, the fact of the matter is we’ve won a tough away game and deservedly so.
‘The only issue for me was the fact that the goal felt like it took an eternity to come because we passed up really good moments. But I thought we dealt with Aberdeen’s physicality. I thought the effort from the team was first class.
Rangers boss Derek McInnes shows his satisfaction after a 1-0 victory against Aberdeen
Striker Lawrence Shankland's second-half penalty was the only goal of the game at Pittodrie
Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson was frustrated with two decisions that went against them
‘On the back of playing 120 minutes on Thursday, and the travelling and everything else, the players were in brilliant condition.
‘We dug deep. It’s been a tough couple of days, but we’ve got our reward today.
‘Probably for the first time this season, I’ve really enjoyed watching the team. I wanted to get over and clap with the fans and celebrate, because I thought the backing was brilliant on Thursday.
‘I thought they were the ones that represented the club properly on Thursday, and we feel that ownership of letting them down. I know how important it is to see the team win.’
McInnes felt the blunt conversations between everyone involved in the loss to Jablonec helped to galvanise his players ahead of what felt like a must-win game.
‘What you’ve got to say is the support staff here at Rangers is first class, proper elite, in terms of looking after the lads,’ said McInnes.
‘I think the fact that we were in each other’s pockets for three days since Wednesday to now, we’ve been together, and I think being in and around together at the hotel in Aberdeen the last couple of days, it’s been good for loads of reasons.
‘Because we all suffer when we lose. I can be fine sometimes losing games, because sometimes you don’t always get what you deserve. But we got exactly what we deserved on Thursday night, and if we’d nicked it on penalties or managed to somehow find a way to get a result, we have to be honest, the performance wasn’t good enough.
‘But having togetherness and spirit and a work ethic helps give you a better chance of doing it, and that’s what we had today.’
McInnes was delighted with the performance of Kim Min-su after the Korean caught the eye in a central role following his move from Girona.
‘Yeah, not just his ball-carrying threat because it was difficult when the pitch was a wee bit dry to actually travel with the ball at times,’ said the Ibrox boss. ‘But just that confidence and speed running around Shankland. It’s vitally important for Lawrence, having that movement.
‘I’ve worked with Lawrence a long time, and he needs that speed and invention and creativity. It’s the quality that we’ve been searching for for a long time now, and you see the difference to the team. There’s a different dynamic.
‘I thought that (Djeidi) Gassama was first class. I thought Findlay Curtis gave us good moments in the game as well, and I think it was a great debut for Min-su, considering he only trained once yesterday.’
Despite being omitted again from the squad, McInnes confirmed that there have been no bids for Nico Raskin.
Linked with Venezuelan striker Kevin Kelsy, McInnes added: ‘We all know the importance of bringing in that quality at the top end of the pitch.’
Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson was dismayed that two pivotal decisions went against his side late on.
Kevin Nisbet was denied a penalty when he felt contact after getting goal-side of Dujon Sterling, before the striker had an equaliser disallowed for an infringement on the Rangers defender.
‘You all saw the game and the only thing I can comment on is I don’t know who judges the amount of force,’ he said. ‘There wasn’t enough for Kevin to get a penalty and there was enough to disallow the goal...
‘Someone has made that decision rightly or wrongly and it certainly affects the game.
‘They seemed quite similar to me but I’m not a referee. I can only control the things that I can in terms of our performance.
‘There were lots of good stuff with battling qualities and real desire and determination.’
