The Pittodrie project is on course but, despite having guided his Aberdeen side to the top of the Premiership, Derek McInnes won't be producing any rash predictions on winning the league title.

The hosts overwhelmed St Johnstone with a high-energy performance to sit on the summit of the table, the first time they've occupied that place in the first week of a new year since 1991.

No-one, not even Tommy Wright, the St Johnstone manager, would have suggested that the visitors could have been so overwhelmed in every area of the park and, in David Goodwillie's astonishing opener after six minutes, Aberdeen sent a message that they were in the mood to provide something special on the day.

"I'm not concerned about putting pressure on Celtic," McInnes said. "The players and I are just looking ahead to the next game and I think that's a brilliant thing to have. When you're winning, the next game can't come quickly enough.

"It's a great feeling to be top of the league, I can't deny that. We said it was all about the three points but that extra bit of motivation to go top was something the players recognised. We mentioned it before the game and in their performance they showed how important it was for them to go top. We showed what we're capable of."

Having delivered agreement from four key members of his side to extend their contracts days earlier, McInnes's assertion that the players were not difficult to persuade because of the enjoyment of being part of a happy outfit.

That they "like coming to work every day" was patently obvious from the beginning of a game with such importance attached to it and the fizz that was missing from their win at Inverness at the weekend, was back as they bombarded St Johnstone with a series of impressive attacks, ensuring that Alan Mannus, the visitors' goalkeeper, earned his corn.

Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes, Andrew Considine and Niall McGinn all penned new deals recently and, like their team-mates, they appeared to be ready to burst with energy and enthusiasm and their quick-passing manoeuvres delighted their vociferous support.

Goodwillie, a striker McInnes is keen to retain when his contract expires in the summer, may not score too many goals, but he is rightly valued by his manager who jumped for joy when the former Dundee United and Blackburn Rovers front man opened the scoring with a sensational strike.

It came as McGinn, seeking space to open-up the opposing defence, clipped a clever ball to his team-mate, lurking in the centre of the area, and when he took it down with his chest then executed an overhead strike, the ball flew into Mannus's top left-hand corner.

There followed a catalogue of shots with which the goalkeeper had to deal and twice he was in acrobatic mode to save efforts from Pawlett with McGinn setting-up his team-mate with the neatest of flicks with the outside of his right foot.

This was just what the home fans wanted and when Hayes raced into the area and unleashed a shot which the Perth side's goalkeeper spilled, it simply heightened the excitement, as did Goodwillie's turn to evade Fraser Wright and skim his 20-yard strike inches past the post.

If St Johnstone wondered whether they could mount a meaningful challenge at the other end, it did not show. They moved the ball around well, though lacked the directness and nous to find a way past a confident Dons defence.

Going in at the break, however, they could take comfort that they were just one goal behind and that, moments before their half-time cuppa, Steven Anderson would have equalised with his shot had it not been for the alertness of Scott Brown, the home side's goalkeeper.

Normal service was resumed in the second period. Mannus produced an early finger-tip save to prevent Goodwillie from hitting a second goal, then Rooney contrived to miss Pawlett's teasing low ball as missed the target from a couple of yards. The pressure on the McDiarmid Park men was relentless, though the Dons management team would have liked to have seen greater reward for their dominance.

Still, when Mackay came close with a header from James McFadden, a replacement for Steven MacLean on the hour, there were nerves from McInnes and Co.

But with the clock ticking down and seconds left of the third mind of additional time, a sweeping ball across goal from Rooney caught out the Saints defence as Cammy Smith, on for Pawlett 15 minutes earlier, drilled his shot home from eight yards. It was the first goal this season for the youngster.

Tommy Wright, the St Johnstone manager, said he would not be too hard on his players and admitted his men could not cope with the sheer force of the new league leaders.

"They know that they haven't played as well as they could have," he said, "and when you are up against a good side you have to play well or you get your backside spanked and that was what happened.

"Alan Mannus played very well but I don't like him being worked that much."