The Light Blues return to Scottish Premiership action following last weekend’s draw at Dundee, with the manager eager for his side to respond at the beginning of an important three-game week.
Speaking to the media ahead of the match, he said: “We have got a really important week coming up. We focus on St Johnstone, as we have done all week.
“There’s a bit of a bug going about. There have been half a dozen players or so, and I got a call last night about a key player as well.
“We are trying to minimise that and work towards tactically being as good as we can come to the game on Saturday and bring a good performance.
“Having those extra training days helps you with that, but it doesn’t guarantee performance.”
Reflecting on the draw at Dens Park, McInnes believes Rangers showed their attacking quality. He continued: “I thought we did enough in an attacking sense to win the game last week. Nico’s goal should have been a winning goal, but we made a mistake and we didn’t really recover from it.
“I think Dundee were good value for their point. We have to say we didn’t defend well enough, particularly in the first half. I thought we defended far better in the second half, but we missed an opportunity to pick up all three points.
“The lads had dug themselves out. We had worked so hard to get ourselves in front. The speed of the play, the aggression and the quality of the goals were everything we would have wanted at the start of the second half, but we let it slip.”
With trips to Tynecastle and the League Cup semi-final also approaching, Rangers hosted a bounce game against Dundee to provide valuable minutes for players who have featured less regularly.
McInnes added: “Every now and then, having these games is important because we have got three games this week and the likelihood is the team will change in that period.
“It is important for me that I don’t just throw people in who have not had 11-v-11 game time and could be a bit undercooked.
“When the team has been on a winning run, it is difficult to make too many changes. It is important they get some competitive 11-v-11.”
Attention is firmly on St Johnstone, however, with McInnes expecting a demanding afternoon against his former club.
He said: “The way they attacked the Championship last season was first class, and being a newly promoted team and having one defeat in six is good going.
“They have done very well, and they have done it in a way where they are not just nicking results. They are actually committing to playing and have a system they try to work towards.
“I think their team plays with a lot of hunger as well, so they will be a tough nut to crack.
“They will come here very confident in what they are doing and try to play their natural game. It is up to us to make it a difficult game for them, but we expect a tough match.”
