AS THE Ladbrokes Premiership campaign edges towards the conclusion of its first quarter, Derek McInnes assessed his Aberdeen side’s opening spell as “decent” with the league placings roughly where they might be expected at this stage.

Aberdeen face a Partick Thistle outfit now beginning to look like they’ve found their feet following two successive away wins, at Firhill tomorrow night, though they’ll go into the game as underdogs.

The Jags, who defeated St Johnstone last week and Dundee seven days earlier have, however, managed only a solitary home win, against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the opening day of the season, a statistic Alan Archibald, their manager, will hope to eradicate as Friday’s hosts.

McInnes, disappointed that Aberdeen faltered at Hamilton and against Celtic at Pittodrie last weekend, expressed himself as satisfied with the progress they are making, despite slipping down to fourth place behind Rangers and Hearts, the latter on goal difference.

“I think it has been a decent first quarter of the season,” he said as he announced that centre-back Ash Taylor has not fully recovered from a thigh injury in time to compete tomorrow night.

“We’re obviously to have lost twice to Celtic, but we did have a run of six successive wins, five in the league, before the loss at Hamilton on October 25.

“So it has been a decent start but we have to build on it now and keep it going.

“It is a tough league and the league table right now is roughly where people thought it might have been at the start of the season.

“And it’s probably roughly where people think it might finish with the likes of Hearts, Rangers, St Johnstone and us in behind Celtic.

“Those three clubs will also have aspirations of being in second place and that is our aim at the very least.

“But it’s still very early, some teams have played a game less than others and we have played Celtic twice.

“You can’t get too caught up in it all because it’s not until after the next round of games things really start to take shape.”

McInnes turned his thoughts to the absence of any of his players in Gordon Strachan’s Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley tomorrow week with an expression of sadness that Graeme Shinnie, starring as a defensive midfielder in the Dons set-up, had once more been omitted.

Strachan is thought not to rate the player as a left back, while there is a plethora of midfielders in his squad all better, according to the national team boss, than Shinnie.

“That’s a disappointment,” McInnes said, “because he is playing well for us and I’m disappointed for him more than anything.

“But it will make him more determined to get himself in the frame in the future.

“Sometimes things are worth waiting for and I’m sure that will be the case for him.

“Every player can get better so he will work hard and keep doing what he is doing for us.

“He’s versatile and against certain opposition I think he’s better at left-back; against others he’s better in the middle of the park.

“I thought that when we signed him from Inverness because he’d played against us in midfield and was the best player on the park.

“He’s been very good for me and the improvement this year has been clear.

“As his manager I am really pleased with what he’s given me and hopefully that will be recognised at international level sometime.”