Derek McInnes insists Aberdeen will never have a 'free hit' when they take on Celtic or Rangers while he is in charge.
The Dons boss expects his side to go all out for victory against the Glasgow giants and is happy to be judged on games against the table toppers.
The next of those comes on Sunday when Neil Lennon takes his Hoops team to Pittodrie for the first time since they secured 8 in a row in the north east in May.
McInnes came under heavy fire from his own support when Aberdeen were trounced 5-0 by Rangers at Ibrox last month.
But in his six years at the helm he has led the club to four second place finishes, a stat he reckons proves they can mix it with the Old Firm.
Saturday's comprehensive 3-0 victory at Motherwell provided signs the Dons are on their way back to form and McInnes is desperate to reinforce that on Sunday by damaging Celtic 's charge towards 9 in a row.
He told the Evening Express : “That’s the way we’ve always felt over the years here and we’ve managed to beat Rangers and Celtic on a number of occasions.
“You can still have the belief, the confidence, the energy, have everything that’s needed, produce a level of performance and lose the game against Celtic.
“But if you don’t have the belief and the physicality then you will lose the game.
“There are certain fundamentals we need in the game and as soon as the referee blows his whistle we need to see that from us.
“I think for a lot of other clubs when they play these games it’s almost as if there’s nothing to lose and it’s a free hit for them.
“It’s never been that at Aberdeen – and nor should it be.
“We’ve been judged against Rangers and Celtic for a number of years, despite the difference in resources and all the rest of it.
“That shows you where we’ve been and I think we’re capable of landing a few blows against the better teams in this league and hopefully we can do that on Sunday.”
