On Saturday night, Dave Cormack told Aberdeen supporters on social media that he doesn’t believe in giving up.
But there’s a growing feeling that his acting manager might. The head coach of the Dons is undoubtedly hurting right now. To say that Cormack has made mistakes would be an understatement, but nobody can deny that his heart is in the right place. He has financially supported managers and has been greatly disappointed. Neil Warnock is now seated on the Pittodrie ejector seat, appearing more uneasy by the second. The cunning English boss did not sign up for this.
He was full of smiles as he came, hoping to cross Scottish football off his long bucket list before turning the keys over to a new man in the summer. Warnock’s smile has turned into a frown, and the Dons run the genuine risk of losing the Premiership if they can’t get out of this deep hole.
You wouldn’t put much money on this motley crew defeating Raith Rovers or Dundee United in a shootout for survival at the end of the season because they are only four points above Ross County in the drop zone play-off position.
Cormack was hoping Warnock would infuse the club with immediate energy. However, Aberdeen has, if anything, gotten worse. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be shocking if Warnock determined returning to his Cornwall house would be in his best interests as well as Dons’. At the end of the game on Saturday, the 75-year-old appeared defeated.
When you lose to St. Mirren and then say it was one of the best performances he’d seen, that’s not a good sign. Dons were formerly more corrupt. The brilliant first goal by Connor Barron after 62 seconds ought to have marked a sea change. Rather, it simply resulted in an extended afternoon. For much of the day, the Saints’ lack of a cutting edge gave the impression that they might get away with it.
However, the Dons are so erratic that anything can happen at any time. Was Warnock about to give up right then and there? “You have to keep going, even though I’ve thought a few things like that over the years,” he remarked.
It wasn’t the strongest of responses. Barron, the goal scorer, was blunt in his remarks. At least he understands the predicament, and accepting oneself is the first step towards healing. “Everyone knows where we are and what we need to do,” he declared. We have to quickly make the necessary corrections.
“We cannot overlook the threat. However, our well-trained dressing room staff knows exactly what needs to be done.
The midfield player had a particularly painful day. His goal was a contender for goal of the season, and it was scored in front of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. But Aberdeen waited to try to see it out rather than pushing home the early advantage.
Aberdeen is this person. This team, which has a £10 million salary cost, is trying to hold on for 90 minutes against a team that Stephen Robinson put together quite skillfully for roughly two bob. And with a little prodding from Toyosi Olusanya, they gave up at the finish line.
Six minutes into added time, the Saints player tied the score with a penalty assisted by VAR after beating Nicky Devlin to the ball. And to ensure the win, Olusanya neatly tucked away Mikael Mandron’s knockdown after just sixty seconds.
“Personal note, nice goal, but we were out to get three points,” stated Barron. Up until the final ten minutes, when individual mistakes cost us once more, we felt comfortable. We couldn’t see it through, so we must fight even though we knew it would be unpleasant. I believed we were winning the game for over ninety minutes.
We must see it through. We are paying for simple mistakes. We felt like we had a great position and they weren’t going to score. It appeared out of the blue. Our season has been characterised by us letting up easy goals as a result of personal mistakes.
“We must put on our sleeves. It is insufficient. It would have been huge to have three points. Barron thinks the team is behind the gaffer, but Warnock has that haunted look about him. Additionally, he hopes that this weekend’s Scottish Cup matchup against Kilmarnock will serve as both a diversion and a possible morale-booster.
“He’s been really good,” he declared. The boys are all smitten with him. For the benefit of the club and for him, we must be producing results. Regretfully, we haven’t been doing that, but we must move forward. Although we were saddened in that locker room, we must get ourselves together for the Kilmarnock Cup match.
We are not allowed to be depressed. We must take care of ourselves. There is still plenty to be gained in this situation, therefore we must strive to see the good side.
We must think back on the match, but after we’ve healed, we play again, with the Scottish Cup taking centre stage. We have a big game at home in the quarterfinals, so that’s what we should focus on.
