St Mirren 0-2 Aberdeen: Dons boss McInnes hails winning habit

Derek McInnes has led his side to eight straight Premiership victories

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says he's "delighted to be in amongst it" after his side extended their advantage at the top of the Premiership.

The Dons moved four points clear of Celtic with a 2-0 win at St Mirren, their eighth straight league victory.

"We're enjoying the run that we're on and we now go and try to make it nine wins in-a-row," McInnes said.

"If we can improve and Celtic maybe don't have the season they had last year then it does become closer.

"That winning habit is good to have and I thought there was a maturity about our second-half performance.

"We don't always have to be brilliant but you always have to try and be better than the opposition. I thought over the piece we were better than St Mirren today.

"In any season you've got to try and win in difficult circumstances."

Despite Aberdeen's momentum, McInnes is remaining coy on his side's title prospects.

"I've said all along for me there's only one team that can lose it," McInnes told BBC Radio Scotland.

"I think while there's challenges coming from outwith, from Inverness, Dundee United, Hamilton, ourselves, it gives everybody that bit of encouragement.

"We're just trying to improve on last season and we will strive for that.

St Mirren have yet to register a home win this season

"I think there are a lot of teams playing well, Celtic being one of them. We've got a winning habit, and there's a few teams showing good consistency as well.

"We're just delighted to be in amongst it."

St Mirren manager caretaker manager Gary Teale feels his side did not react well to conceding the first goal against the Dons, having started the game well.

"We seemed to let our heads go down far too easily. It's that mentality I'm trying to change. Until we do that we are going to struggle," he explained.

The Buddies now face a crucial match against fellow strugglers Ross County in Dingwall next weekend, with the Staggies level on points with the Paisley side but above them on goals scored.

"It's a massive game but every game is massive because we're sitting joint bottom of the league with Motherwell not so far above us," Teale commented.

"We're going to need a great run of results if we're going to catch the ones that are further ahead of us than Motherwell. Realistically it's like a three-team league for us. "

The former Derby winger feels he will need to add to the squad in the January transfer window as his side face up to a relegation battle between now and the end of the season.

"I've been trying even before the window opened to do a bit of homework on a lot of players," he added. "The problem is when you bring players in in January, especially with the money available to you, you have to get it right. You can't just dive in and take somebody just for the sake of it.

"I'm confident we'll have a couple in by next week. We're very weak at the top end of the pitch and that's what I'm trying to rectify."