Pawlett: Dons ready to bounce back
Aberdeen midfielder Peter Pawlett insists the Dons are not feeling the pace of the Scottish Premiership title race.
The Pittodrie side's faint hopes of pushing Celtic all the way to the line appear to be over after they were held at home to a goalless draw with Partick on Saturday.
The stalemate means Celtic have sprinted further ahead and now hold a seven-point lead at the table summit as well as a game in hand.
Dons boss Derek McInnes admitted his side were "lucky" to escape Saturday's Jags clash with a point after a disappointing display.
But Pawlett insists it was just a bad day at the office and not a sign of tiredness creeping into Aberdeen legs.
The 24-year-old - who hopes to bounce back when his side host Inverness on Wednesday - told RedTV: "As players we were disappointed coming off the pitch. We did not perform to the levels that we can. It was disappointing but at least we have a game straight away to put things right. We have a chance to bounce back which is the main thing.
"I wish I could put my finger on what went wrong on Saturday. It is just one of those things, it did not click for us. Sometimes that happens in football. You have got to learn from it, accept it and move on. It is close to the end of the season but we want to finish as strongly as possible.
"The way we all feel now and how much confidence we have in each other we expect to win more often than not. We have been very consistent in the league this season and want to finish as high as possible. In our last 20 games we have won 14 and drawn four.
"The manager is striving for improvement each season and that is what we are looking to achieve. It looks like we will beat our points tally in the league last season.
"I don't think the long season is a reason for the poor performance on Saturday. They are mostly young lads in the changing room and as a player you want to play.
"We also get our rest and recovery and the manager has monitored the situation very closely and tailored the training accordingly. The boys are feeling as fresh as we can do at this stage of the campaign and we are all looking forward to the run in."
McInnes has no fresh injuries for the clash.
Inverness are preparing for a testing trio of fixtures, but manager John Hughes would not have it any other way.
Caley's 1-1 home draw against Dundee on Saturday took them eight points clear of fourth-placed Dundee United and into pole position for a European spot.
After travelling to Aberdeen, Hughes' side host Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic on Saturday before meeting the Hoops in their William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final clash at Hampden Park the following week.
And the Inverness boss is more excited than fearful.
"Aberdeen is a massive match," he said. "There are a lot of big games coming up. We are playing all the big teams - Aberdeen, Celtic, Celtic again... it is just fantastic.
"This is where we want to be and that's who we want to be taking on and I am intrigued to see how it pans out.
"The spirit and character in that dressing room means every team that we play against are going to know that they have been in a game.
"Aberdeen are a wonderful side and have recruited very well. Graeme Shinnie, our left-back and goalscorer against Dundee, will be there next year.
"They have Kenny McLean, a lovely footballer, Johnny Hayes coming back, Adam Rooney is in good goalscoring form... so they have a real abundance of talent.
"But it is one where you have to be rubbing your hands and say, 'I am up to that challenge - bring it on'.
"And we have always done well when we have gone to Pittodrie, so I am looking forward to it."
Striker Edward Ofere is in contention for a start after impressing Hughes after coming off the bench in the draw against Dundee.
Source: PA
