TONY Docherty, the Aberdeen assistant manager, has dismissed suggestions the Pittodrie club’s bizarre failed bid to land Greg Tansey, the Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder, will add an edge to their Ladbrokes Premiership match in the Highlands on Monday.
Aberdeen believed they had triggered a release clause in Tansey’s contract with Inverness when they tabled a £200,000 bid for the 27-year-old Englishman on the final day of the January transfer window.
Caley Thistle claimed the wording of the deal was ambiguous and released a statement the following day which stressed the player was happy to remain at the Scottish Cup holders.
However, Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, stated he was surprised and disappointed at not being allowed to speak to Tansey, who he claimed had been keen to move to Pittodrie, and has called for an investigation into the affair.
Docherty, though, has insisted the episode will be forgotten about when Aberdeen, who drew level with Celtic on points at the top of the Premiership table last weekend, take to the field at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.
Asked about the Tansey bid, he said: “There has been enough said about it and I want to draw a line under it. The window has closed, there is nothing we can do about it and we are of a mindset that we should focus only on the events we can control.
“He is a good player and Russ Richardson, our head of recruitment, identifies players who can fit into our squad. He was one we looked at but the window has closed and we move on.
“Inverness have got good players and we know how hard it will be as they are a decent team and it will take a good Aberdeen performance to get a result there. It has been our mantra all season that we can only effect what we can effect and it will continue to be that.”
Docherty believes the chance to beat John Hughes’s side for the first time in the 2015/16 campaign and keep their hopes of winning the Scottish title alive will be enough motivation for the Aberdeen players.
Inverness dealt Aberdeen, who had enjoyed a record breaking seven game winning start to their league campaign, their first Premiership defeat of the season when they won 2-1 at home back in September. They also drew 2-2 at Pittodrie on Boxing Day after surrendering a two goal lead in the second half.
Having overcome defending champions Celtic twice at home, Aberdeen have beaten every other team in the league and Docherty revealed the players are keen to put that right on Monday evening in front of the BT Sport cameras.
However, having watched Hughes’s men win four, draw two and lose just one of their last seven games, during which time they have moved into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals, he knows they will have to perform at their best.
“Caley Thistle are the only team we haven’t beaten this year so that will be the motivation for the trip to Inverness,” said Docherty. “We are in good form but they are in a good bit of form themselves so it will be a tough test."
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