If McInnes was already feeling some of that pressure ahead of the game, he certainly was not showing it as he claimed his side’s sustained presence at the top of the league was getting a few backs up.
“From the outset, it was people looking in from September when we went top of the league, good old Hearts, top of the league in September, good on them, October, November, still got a lot of plaudits,” he said.
“Now that we’re there, I think we’re actually starting to annoy a few people. I think a lot of people naturally would have thought we’d have fell away by now, which is fine. I get that and I understand it.
“We are overachieving. They’re doing so well to maintain it. I’m just enjoying where we are.
“Obviously, there’s big challenges ahead of us, but I don’t see anybody in my dressing room not enjoying it. We’ve just got to try and keep it going.”
While a win would open a significant gap on Rangers again, McInnes insisted nothing will be decided this weekend.
“Win, lose or draw, for me, it doesn’t decide anything on Sunday,” he said. “That’s the way we would look at it.
“I think our away record has been so strong this season that backs what I’m saying up – that we go and try and win every game if we can.
“We understand a lot of games are more difficult than others. And this is in that bracket, of course.”
