Freddie Frans says that Partick Thistle are ready to end Aberdeen's title challenge once and for all by defeating them at Firhill tonight.
The Belgian defender is expecting Derek McInnes’s men to be fired up after the disappointment of defeat to Inverness on Monday night. but he has warned them that his own side are just as determined to claim the three points as they look to drag themselves towards the top half of the Premiership table.
He said: “I think it would be over for them if we win but they will be motivated for the match. They lost on Monday and they need to get a win to keep in the title race, so they will be looking to give it a real go.
“Aberdeen have one of the best frontlines, I rate them very highly. Rooney scores a lot of goals, but Hearts and Celtic also have a lot of movement. There’s a reason why these teams are at the top of the league.
“But from our point of view we don’t want to get dragged into a relegation fight. Even with games in hand you want to get out of there.We are little concerned with all the games stacking up, I think of all the teams we have been hit the hardest. It’s not nice but it’s something we have to deal with.
“Mentally it is a big thing, you want the points. The league is so tight and if we win our two games we could be fourth or fifth in the league. If we lose them we’ll be in trouble. It’s two homes games and it’s up to us to make sure we’re safe.”
Frans was unsure how to react to Motherwell’s win over Dundee United on Tuesday night, but admitted that he can’t see the Tannadice men getting off the bottom of the table now. He is trying not to get too concerned over what other teams are doing despite the close nature of the league table, preferring to focus on getting points on the board for Partick Thistle during what will be a busy spell as they get through their rescheduled matches.
“I think Dundee United are too far off now," he said.
"You never know because crazy things can happen in football, but I think they’re down now. Motherwell are a team round us so you don’t want to see them picking up too many points either.
“We just need to focus on ourselves. These will be tough months so let’s hope for better weather. It can be a disadvantage because you see teams who play in Europe can sometimes struggle.
“It’s not an excuse but it’s not really 100 per cent fair. We will be playing these matches while the other teams will have the full week off to prepare.
“That’s the way it is, we have to handle and you never know, maybe we’ll go on a good run.
“If we have so many games in a short space of time then we will have to adjust. We’ll play, then recover. We’ve got a great fitness coach here so we will be ready.
“Some pitches are so bad anyway you just have to play. The pitch looks okay at the moment but one day of rain and that could change.
“With good pitches all this rain would have an impact. We just hope it is playable and the game goes ahead.”
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