If Derek McInnes intended to raise the Aberdeen oomph-factor to a higher level by his signing of Kenny McLean from St Mirren a week ago and thereby remind other Pittodrie midfield players they would need to raise their game to find a place in his side, it appears to have worked.

Offered the chance to rise from the bench and into the spotlight in this one-sided affair, Peter Pawlett and David Goodwillie delivered fine performances and a goal apiece as Ross County wilted under the energy of a Dons outfit now sitting alongside Celtic at the summit of the Premiership.

Adam Rooney, aided by a fumble from County keeper Antonio Reguero, had already helped his side assume control of a first half which was not particularly notable before Pawlett emerged after the break as a replacement for Cammy Smith, a surprising starter beside McLean but unable to make an impact.

Aberdeen found their rhythm in a second-half in which the Staggies showed a doggedness but little else, their lack of invention making the afternoon a little easier for their opponents.

Still, McInnes's team selection proved a talking point and one that did not bypass Pawlett and while the phrase "rude awakening" could be considered rather strong, his demotion was mentioned in his post-match dispatches.

"I'm not used to being on the bench," he said, "but there is healthy competition for places now and the manager is keeping everyone on their toes.

"He has a decision to make and we know we have to work hard week in, week out and show the right attitude to be picked on a Saturday.

"Every player wants to play every single week and I did feel as if I had a point to prove.

"When I go on I have to show I'm capable of starting and hopefully by scoring a goal I've shown the right reaction.

"It's up to him to decide if that's the case.

"There is strength in depth now. Look at the bench for this game and there is David Goodwillie, who came on and scored a goal, myself, Willo Flood, Barry Robson, Joe Shaughnessy and Lawrence Shankland sitting there with Jamie Langfield.

"There is such healthy competition for places and when top players are sitting on the bench it shows the quality of the squad we have now."

Pawlett's observations are perhaps indicative of the unspoken belief that maybe McInnes can continue to pester Celtic right to the close of the season.

Certainly, when Shay Logan curled his shot on the hour mark past the beleaguered Reguero before Goodwillie's late strike, there was a feeling that, notwithstanding the paucity of the opposition, the Dons have a maturity and drive to hassle the Hoops.

And so, as they finished their eleventh successive league game undefeated and County notched-up a similar number still seeking a victory, the focus of the men from the Highlands will be to try and find some semblance of momentum if they are not to find themselves operating in the Championship next season.

They had two scoring chances in this game, but ones neither Jackson Irvine nor Liam Boyce could convert.

Earlier in the week, club chairman Roy MacGregor described some of his team's performances this season as awful but perhaps ominously, he stressed that the current ensemble was now manager Jim McIntyre's chosen group and that he would be judged on that.

Indeed, the visit to Dingwall this weekend by fellow strugglers, Motherwell, could well be the defining moment of the season for both clubs.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves," Boyce insisted. "You can get into that rut but where we are at the moment we need to start getting points on the board an quickly.

"The next six weeks are going to be big for us. We play a lot of the sides around us in the league and we need to start picking up points against them.

"Next week is the big one. Motherwell are six points above us, so it's obviously a relegation six-pointer that we need to win.

"It would give us a bit of confidence beating the team next to us in the table and hopefully we will get the rub of the green.

"It would be good to get 1-0 up rather than the other way around and chasing the game."