McInnes proud of finish

Three points against Inverness on Saturday thanks to a 2-1 win put them 19 points clear of the Caley Thistle, with the latter only having five league games remaining.

A David Raven own-goal and a close-range finish from Niall McGinn secured all three points for the Dons, who with four games remaining still have faint hopes of the title.

It helped to cancel out Edward Ofere's strike, which put Inverness in the lead four minutes into the second half.

"I think the time for reflection will come at the end of the season," said McInnes.

"It's quite something for the players, given that over the years Aberdeen sides have not even been in the top six.

"The players should be proud but there's still work to be done."

Unlike last season, where second place was robbed from them on the last day, Aberdeen have showed the consistency during this campaign to maintain their strong position.

"Consistency is made up of a number of factors," added McInnes.

"It was determination that got the job done against Inverness in poor conditions. We could have easily written the day off as a bad one that the wind spoiled."

Fresh confusion surrounded the availability of Josh Meekings before the game, given that on Thursday he was cleared from a Scottish Football Association-enforced ban to play in the Scottish Cup final.

Meekings' name appeared on the SFA's disciplinary list on Thursday as a player who would miss out this weekend, despite only picking up three league bookings this season.

The only player to be banned for the Caley Jags was Ross Draper, who has accumulated 12 yellow cards.

"They must have made a mistake," said Inverness manager John Hughes, "because Josh has only picked up three bookings.

"It's one we could have done without but Josh acquitted himself very well."

The Inverness boss added that given the week the club has endured, the performance against Aberdeen was pleasing.

"It's been a hectic week and to put in that kind of performance was great," Hughes added.