Phil McGuire Post Rangers

"We have had a difficult start but I don't know if it is a surprise, we were at home and there is a lot more expected of you when you are at home against Celtic and Rangers.

"It was a good result and we worked very hard. It was a wee set back conceding the goal just after half time but we dug in and got an equaliser. We thoroughly deserved at least a point."

A major success on Sunday was Phil McGuire's performance in the centre of a back three, one that earned him an extreme large bottle of champagne as Setanta's Man of the Match. He was modest about his award:-

"I have played there many times. Yesterday I was playing centre midfield but Shieldsie got an injury so I slotted back in as sweeper. It doesn't bother me where I play as long as we work hard and get the right results.

"I thought we contained them quite well and lost the goal through a loss of concentration for a second. He got the ball and scored a good goal but we knuckled down and got the equaliser and the point.

"We have had three games now, in the Hearts game we went behind and we got it back; we played well but lost the game. Last week we didn't play well, created five great chances and lost the game then against Rangers we played well without creating a great deal but got a goal and got a point.

"We have a lot of injuries but we can't make that an excuse because it is a squad game, that is why you have a big squad. It is not the biggest of squads but the players who come in know what they have to do. Hopefully we will get a few players back from injury and progress from there."

For the 26 year-old Par who in ten outings as an Aberdeen player never ended on the winning side, Sunday was as close as it gets. Had Calum Woods drive fallen inside instead of just outside the left goalpost in time added on for injuries and substitutions, then it might have been different:-

"Playing with Aberdeen against Rangers it was usually the press that fired it up. Be it Rangers, Celtic, Hearts you have to win all these games.

"We have had a difficult start but I don't know if it is a surprise, we were at home and there is a lot more expected of you when you are at home against Celtic and Rangers. On Sunday we showed the fans that so we have to take positives from that into our next league game."

Phil McGuire tackles Rangers captain, Dado Prso