Aberdeen defender Kari Arnason has played down the pressure facing the Dons ahead of two crucial Scottish Premiership fixtures that could shape their season.
The Dons will look to close the gap on second-place Rangers with a victory at Motherwell tonight before Saturday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Kilmarnock at Pittodrie.
One of the lowest points of Aberdeen’s campaign came at Fir Park in September when Derek McInnes’ Reds were beaten 3-0 by Motherwell in the League Cup, although they went some way to make up for that disappointment by winning 1-0 at the same venue three days later.
Morale is low at Pittodrie after successive 2-0 losses against Hibernian and Celtic and defeat in their next two would leave them playing catch-up on Rangers and end any hopes of a Hampden outing this season.
The pressure may be mounting ahead of the business end of the season but Arnason is trying to remain upbeat.
The former Rotherham player said: “We don’t look at worst-case scenarios.
“We just take one game at a time, starting at Motherwell and then we will focus fully on Kilmarnock.
“Motherwell are a very competitive team and they make it a fight.
“I have been in that situation in England when I played in League One and League Two, so it is nothing new.
“They are good at fighting for first and second balls. They are a very physical team.
“In the second game we knew exactly what we were going into.
“We matched them in that game and won first and second balls.
“We just need to match their strength and aggression.”
Sunday’s defeat stretched the Dons’ losing sequence against Celtic to 10 matches. The Reds are yet to take a point from the Hoops or Rangers this season but they will have a chance to make amends after the split.
The Icelandic international added: “Obviously, Sunday was very disappointing.
“We tried something new against Celtic and we did better.
“We created more chances than they did but you have to put those chances away to get something from the game.
“No one likes losing games but we can’t dwell on that.
“We just need to bounce back.”