Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin had admitted there is now “huge pressure” at Pittodrie as the post-Rangers slump continues with defeat to Kilmarnock.
The Dons boss has repeatedly claimed that his side were devastated after the 3-2 injury time defeat to Rangers and whilst their post-World Cup slump started before the Gers broke their hearts, our outspoken northern rivals have been unable to pick themselves up ever since.
Aberdeen have now lost four straight matches in the Scottish Premiership and sit 4th in the Scottish top flight, losing to Celtic, Rangers, St Mirren and now Kilmarnock.
Scott Arfield’s late double appears to have had a lasting impact and if Rangers fans didn’t love the former Canadian international captain enough before, then they certainly will now.
After succumbing to a 3-1 defeat to the Buddies in Paisley, Aberdeen have now been defeated 2-1 by Kilmarnock with a performance which Jim Goodwin described as their “worst” of the season.
Scott Robinson and Joe Wright gave Derek McInnes’ side a 2-0 lead at halftime with Matty Kennedy pulling one back in injury time for Aberdeen.
Aberdeen continue woeful post-Rangers form with defeat to Kilmarnock
Speaking after the game, Irish manager Goodwin admitted that there is now “huge pressure” on everyone working at Pittodrie.
“I’m not hiding away from anything,” said Goodwin.
“It’s a results driven business as everybody says, however you try and dress it up. There was not a single positive. It was our worst performance of the season by a country mile.
“The expectation is huge at this club and it can’t carry on, it’s as simple as that. The one thing you want as a manager is grit, determination and desire.
“When things are not going well, you stand up and be counted and we didn’t do that. I don’t think the players will hide away and, as manager, I’m accountable. I brought most of them here and I stand by them.
“But tonight was abysmal, that’s all I can say. The first 45 minutes was appalling. The fact we were only 2-0 down was a positive as Kilmarnock could have been 4-0 up.
“We caused our own downfall a lot of the time and two goals we conceded were pathetic.
“I don’t like publicly slagging off players and I haven’t had to do it this season. But we can’t hide away from this.
“There is no player who can disagree. It was a really bad performance. We’ve lost games where three or four were below par, but tonight we were abysmal.
“I can only apologise to the fans who made the trip here. We really let them down.
“For the majority of the season, I don’t think I could say we showed a lack of commitment or fight, but there is nothing we can take from it.
“You can talk about a late goal to Celtic, injury time goals to Rangers and three penalties to St Mirren, but Aberdeen have lost four goals on the spin and it’s not good enough for Aberdeen.
“There’s huge pressure now. I’ve been in this position before where one win can change things. This is our spell now and we can either stand up and be counted or hide behind someone.”
Somehow, we don’t think there will be much sympathy from Rangers as Ibrox fans grab the popcorn and watch the Dons self-combust knowing full well the defeat to the Gers is at the heart of it.
Whilst Celtic, St Mirren and Kilmarnock all deserve credit for beating Aberdeen, everyone knows that only one match matters to their tinpot outfit and it’s very, very, very satisfying to put Rangers at the centre of their recent form.
Don’t just take our word for it either – one of the country’s most well-known broadcasters previously slaughtered the Dons for only showing up v Rangers.
