If Aberdeen’s performance against Hamilton on Tuesday night is replicated when they face Celtic on Saturday, then their challenge for this year’s Premiership title will be as good as over before it has barely begun.

If Celtic see off Ross County as expected tonight then defeat Derek McInnes’s side at the weekend, it will leave Aberdeen 10 points adrift of Brendan Rodgers’ men, who would also have a game in hand.

Aberdeen can take heart though from the six-game winning run they were on prior to their Hamilton horror show, and captain on the night Graeme Shinnie says that even though they were uncharacteristically poor against Accies, they can get their act together in time for the Saturday lunchtime showdown with the champions.

Read more: Rodgers predicts Celtic will be in great shape for Pittodrie trip after resting eight regulars for Ross County victoryThe Herald:

“It brings us back down to earth as we have been on a good run,” Shinnie said.

“That counts for nothing. We feel we should be coming down here and winning three points. We haven’t and Hamilton deserve credit for playing well on the night.

“It was very frustrating for us. We had a few chances in the game but I felt we didn’t play to the standard we have been at recently.

Read more: Rodgers predicts Celtic will be in great shape for Pittodrie trip after resting eight regulars for Ross County victory

“That is very frustrating but we did create chances and could have nicked a draw from the game. We want to do well and win every game.

“It is very frustrating whenever you have a setback like this, but there is nothing we can do now. We need to focus on Saturday’s game as that is a big one for us and look to win there.”

After such a lethargic display and demoralising defeat, the prospect of facing up to an in-form Celtic side would be one that many sides wouldn’t relish, but Shinnie believes it is the perfect fixture to shake any disappointment out of the Aberdeen players’ systems.

And the Dons record against Celtic at Pittodrie last season is giving Shinnie heart that they can claw back their deficit at the top of the table.

“A win is a win and we want to win every game we play,” he said.

“At this stage of this season you want to put as many wins on the board as possible. There is no better game to do that than Saturday.

Read more: Rodgers predicts Celtic will be in great shape for Pittodrie trip after resting eight regulars for Ross County victory

“They have had a good start but we beat them twice at Pittodrie last season. We can take massive confidence from that and we were on a good run before the Hamilton match.

“As long as we play well on the day we know we are in with a chance of winning.

“We had a bit of a slow start to the season but we picked up form. We put a few wins together and it is all about doing that again and trying to put points on the board. We want to do that again on Saturday.”