ABERDEEN manager Jimmy Calderwood has told fans their team's quality of football will improve after they ground out another one-goal away victory.
The Dons followed wins at Motherwell and Ayr with a triumph over St Mirren that owed much to the home side's wastefulness in front of goal.
Billy Mehmet, who scored a hat-trick in the 7-0 Co-operative Insurance Cup thrashing of Dumbarton, misse
d two glorious chances as Saints dominated the first half. Then, mistakes by central defenders John Potter and Will Haining set up Darren Mackie 12 yards out to fire home two minutes before the break.
Calderwood recognised his team's first-half fortune but praised Lee Mair and Andrew Considine, who deputised for injured central defenders Scott Severin and Zander Diamond.
Calderwood, who is hoping to bring in two more players before today's transfer deadline, said: "We are trying to play some good football. We have five or six new players who are still gelling in.
"We were without two of our best players in defensive situations, Severin and Diamond. I honestly think the football is getting better every game.
"The St Mirren manager, Gus MacPherson, will tell his players to keep believing following a first-half display that he felt produced the best football of his reign. "You have just got to remain positive with the players and keep telling them that they are doing a lot of good things," he said.
"But ultimately you have got to get results. When you are creating chances like that you have got to take them because that's what you are always going to be reliant on for the confidence of your players.
"We are playing better football, from pre-season and taking that to SPL teams and dictating, and that wasn't like us a couple of years back.
"The players have got to remain confident because we have the belief in them that they are doing the right thing."
MacPherson added: "If I see anyone else with man of the match other than Garry Brady, I certainly will be making phone calls. He was absolutely outstanding, he dictated everything that was going on throughout that pitch."
There was one moment of controversy when Lee Miller was booked for diving by referee Willie Collum after getting in front of Scott Cuthbert and going down inside the box. Potter remonstrated with Miller but the Aberdeen striker felt aggrieved.
Calderwood said: "I honestly didn't see it, but why would he go down? He is already past him."
The full article contains 431 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
