After the Cup final loss, McInnes became under pressure after a poor run of results in December which included an abandoned match at home against Motherwell.[5]
However, the Dons ended 2016 with 3 wins out of their last 3 matches in the year, keeping the same starting line-up in all 3 matches, easing pressure on McInnes.[6]
January
Graeme Shinnie boosted the Dons signing on an extra year to his contract.[7]
February
On 6 February, Niall McGinn was awarded SPFL January Goal of the Month for his goal against Dundee.[8]
After 3 bids were rejected in the January transfer window by Cardiff City, on 7 February Jonny Hayes signed a new contract extension to keep him at the club until 2019.[9]
On 14 February, Andrew Considine signed a new contract to also keep him at the club until 2019.[10]
On 12 May, Dean Campbell was introduced as a substitute against Celtic, becoming the club's youngest-ever player (a record previously held by Jack Grimmer).[21]
On 17 May, Aberdeen defeated Rangers 2-1 at Ibrox Stadium, their first victory at that stadium since 1991.[22] The result also mathematically confirmed Aberdeen's second place in the final league table.
On 27 May, the Dons lost the Scottish Cup Final to Celtic, their sixth, in total, defeat to them this season against what was "The Invincibles".[26][27]
Source: Scottish Premiership, Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification and second stage group allocation).[32] (C) Champions Notes:
^Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
