Aberdeen 2-0 St Johnstone: Dons urged to stay focused

Cammy Smith (right) scored Aberdeen's second goal against St Johnstone

Table-topping Aberdeen have been urged to keep their feet on the ground by manager Derek McInnes.

The Dons, who defeated St Johnstone 2-0, are now above Celtic by a point after the reigning champions' game against Partick Thistle was postponed.

"It can easily be derailed," McInnes said of his side's recent winning run.

"And all it takes is one or two in your dressing-room to get above themselves and we are constantly making sure that the right message gets through."

It was Aberdeen's sixth straight Scottish Premiership victory and they could extend the gap at the top to four points should they defeat Motherwell before Celtic meet Kilmarnock on Monday.

"I don't want to come across as if we're not happy - of course we are - but we have to recognise what got us there is hard work and focus on each game and that has to continue for us," McInnes told BBC Scotland.

"For us, it is all about trying to win the next game.

"We're just enjoying it. It is important not to look ahead of ourselves as we've been in this game long enough to know a slap in the face is always round the corner.

"We are fortunate to have a lot of hard-working players who want to do well for themselves and the club.

"There is a good chemistry between the support and the players at the minute and it is important to keep that momentum going."

St Johnstone lost their eight-game unbeaten run at Pittodrie

McInnes thought his side deserved their victory despite having to wait until the final seconds before Cammy Smith added to David Goodwillie's early opener.

"We asked for a committed, strong, passionate performance and we got that from everybody from the first minute to the last," he said.

"We knew it was more than just three points - it was an opportunity to go top of the league.

"I think any time you get that chance, it is nice to go and take it and I thought it showed in the performance.

"I thought it was a real strong performance - as good as it has been in this run.

"We probably created as many chances as we have in any games since I've been manager."

St Johnstone arrived at Pittodrie looking to protect their own run of eight games without a defeat, but manager Tommy Wright was disappointed with their performance.

"We came here to try and frustrate and get in their faces and make it difficult for them and we didn't do that," he said.

"We allowed Aberdeen a foot-hold in the game and, once you do that, they're a good side and they dominated large parts of the game and the scoreline could have been bigger except for good goalkeeping from Alan Mannus.

"At 1-0, I genuinely thought we could have sneaked something, we had a couple of good chances, but overall we didn't do enough to win the game and we were beaten by a better side."