Jimmy Thelin’s post-match comments on Saturday were concerning. He highlighted a lack of effort and responsibility among the players while commending the ever-faithful Red Army for their support.
My concern isn’t for the manager, however. My concern is about the players. Around 2,000 Dons fans travelled down to the capital, having failed to see their team win in the league for a record-breaking, at the time, 13 games.
Yet, a performance as lacklustre as that awaited them, and the record reached 14.
For too long during this barren run of results, paying fans have seen a lack of responsibility on the park. The 2-0 defeat away to Hibernian was just the latest example and, seemingly, the performance that finally pushed the Swede’s patience too far.
It isn’t that these players lack quality. We know they are more than capable of performing in this league. We’ve seen it this season.
Aberdeen kept the ball well at Easter Road but were toothless in attack. In the first half especially, we continuously crossed the ball to an isolated Pape Habib Gueye as he was surrounded by Hibs defenders, waiting to clear their lines.
When the home side went forward, as was evident with their second goal, men in green were busting a gut to get in the box.
Earlier in the season, we saw plenty of this for ourselves and it paid dividends. How many times did we see, for example, Nicky Devlin pop up in the opposition area and cause havoc? The desire from the team to do that seems to have disappeared.
It appeared our opponents wanted it more. In 50-50 challenges, they made their presence felt and the Aberdeen players did not match them.
It wasn’t long ago Hibs were in a similar situation to the one we are in now. Yet, they’ve turned it around. We can only hope Thelin’s new additions and his latest home truths can lead to Aberdeen doing the same.
Calum Wright can be found at Red Tinted Glasses Podcast
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