St Mirren manager Oran Kearney has warned his players to expect a backlash from Aberdeen today after the Dons suffered defeat against Celtic last weekend.

Derek McInnes’ men lost 1-0 at Parkhead, while Saints fell to defeat by the same scoreline at home to Hibs.

Kearney insists the early season 4-0 hammering in the BetFred Cup under his predecessor Alan Stubbs should have no impact on this afternoon’s Pittodrie showdown – but he expects Aberdeen to be difficult opponents.

He said: “I’m sure they’ll be looking to bounce back. They have a really good pedigree and they’ve done fantastically well in the last four seasons, so it’ll make it tougher for us that they’ve huffed and puffed a bit in recent weeks.

“They’ll probably be keen to find top gear but I watched the footage of their game against Celtic last weekend and they weren’t far away from it.

"Listen, we’re well aware of their strengths and of how hard it’s going to be but, from our point of view, we need to perform as we did against Hibs if we’re to get anything out of the game.

“I don’t think the BetFred Cup tie before I came will have any bearing on this game. I certainly hope not, since we lost 4-0.

"There are lessons to be learned from every defeat but I like to think we’ve turned a new page and it’s all about looking forward now.”

Kearney also revealed he is in two minds about the upcoming international break.

The Northern Irishman admits he has enjoyed the quick turnaround between games recently but also knows the break will give his new signings time to get more training under their belts.

Kearney added: “We did well when we drew 0-0 with Celtic in my first game and then we were poor when losing to Hamilton and then we were better and unlucky to lose to Hibs.

"That’s what we’ve been stressing this week – that we need that consistency in order to create the chances that can help us win matches.

“The break will give us the time to get our ideas across on the training ground but it’ll also allow the new lads – Anton Ferdinand, Simeon Jackson and Adam Hamill – to have a mini pre-season and get themselves fitter and sharper for the challenges ahead.”