McInnes urges Aberdeen to give departing skipper Shinnie perfect send-off

Derek McInnes has urged Aberdeen to hand departing skipper Graeme Shinnie the perfect farewell present with victory at Easter Road.

Shinnie will join Premier League hopefuls Derby this summer after agreeing a three-year deal with Rams boss Frank Lampard.

The Pittodrie faithful feared they had seen the last of their talismanic captain when he suffered an ankle injury against Kilmarnock last month but he battled back to fitness to play a part in last Friday’s win over Hearts.

That win has kept McInnes’ side in the hunt for a third place and a Europa League slot.

They now need to beat Hibernian in Leith and hope Rangers can trip up Kilmarnock at Rugby Park as the curtain comes down on the Ladbrokes Premiership campaign.

But at the very least McInnes wants to send Shinnie south on the back of a positive result.

He said: “It’s important for us all to try to finish off with a win and see where it takes us.

“All we can try and do is win the game and there’s no reason why we can’t.

“We’ve got the motivation and the players coming back. Hopefully, the team can deliver the performance we’re capable of and if we can do that then we can certainly win the game.

“For Graeme, I spoke about his relentless will to make sure he played in these last two games and it says everything about him and it says everything about everything we’re going to lose.

“Not just the player, but the man. He was hell-bent on making sure he was involved in these two games. He’s had a good week’s work and I think he needed the game last week and it was important for him and us to be on the pitch.

“He’ll be there to take the team out on Sunday and hopefully we can get three points for him and everybody connected to the club.”