Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes praised the work ethic of his players as they ground out a 1-0 win over Inverness.

A solitary goal from Peter Pawlett decided the match, but McInnes was content with the way his side performed.

The three points put the Dons just two behind leaders Celtic, who slipped up at home to Ross County on Saturday.

It was the Pittodrie side's seventh win in eight games.

They restricted their opponents largely to half-chances, apart from Billy Mckay's effort that came back off the bar in the second half.

Both sides had penalty claims turned down, but McInnes wanted to focus on his team's display.

"To try and contain a side like Inverness for 90 minutes was always going to be difficult - they've got a good team and good players. But for the majority of the game, we worked extremely hard to be difficult to play against," he said.

"We showed a real resolve and Inverness didn't get up a real head of steam for a home side, which was pleasing.

"We can still do better in an attacking sense and it could have helped us getting a second goal.

"Throughout it all, the fundamental thing for us was how hard we worked.

"The goalkeeper made a few good saves and I thought we should have had a penalty. But I'm not going to be critical of Calum Murray - he's a very good referee."

Caley Thistle manager John Hughes felt his side did enough to get something out of the game, despite a third straight league defeat.

The home side had the better of possession, but a cutting edge was lacking in front of goal.

"I think we did well enough to take something out of it, but that's football. If you give them a goal head start it's always going to be an uphill battle," he said.

"Other than that I was very pleased with how we played. It's maybe just a wee bit of lady luck that's deserted us at this moment in time.

"I can't complain about the effort and commitment from the boys and in the second half we had Aberdeen on the back foot."