Ryan Hedges believes Aberdeen’s togetherness can help them through tough period

Aberdeen midfielder Ryan Hedges believes the club’s togetherness can help them through another challenging period.

The Dons were without nine players for their 4-0 defeat by Rangers on Sunday and none of them will be back for Wednesday’s trip to Hamilton.

Connor McLennan and Lewis Ferguson were instructed to self-isolate on Saturday following Scotland Under-21s and Dons team-mate Ross McCrorie’s positive Covid-19 test.

Jonny Hayes, Dylan McGeouch, Marley Watkins, Scott Wright, Niall McGinn and back-up goalkeeper Tomas Cerny were also unavailable for the game.

Derek McInnes handed 16-year-old Ryan Duncan a debut off the bench at Ibrox amid a shortage of experienced players but Hedges feels the Dons squad will rise to the challenge.

Aberdeen came under fire from all quarters early in the season after eight players were instructed to self-isolate following an ill-judged night out and two positive coronavirus tests.

And Hedges feels they will come together again in adversity.

“We are one big squad, fighting for the same cause and heading in the right direction,” the Welshman said.

“Hopefully that will be evident over the next couple of weeks.”

The squad were quick to contact the under-21 players.

“We had a little FaceTime with them on the coach down on Saturday,” he said.

“You can see the togetherness of the squad we have got here.

“It was very disappointing, especially as it happened outwith Aberdeen’s control. At the moment these things happen. We just have to try to keep moving forward.”

That process continues on Wednesday with a trip to Lanarkshire.

“It is huge,” Hedges said. “I think having that quick turnaround before the next game is the best thing for us as we won’t be dwelling on this.

“We will look at the things we have done well and the things we haven’t done well.

“We will look at what we can improve and hopefully put that right on Wednesday.”