Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes insists there is no cause for alarm after watching his side make a sluggish start to the season.
The Dons recorded their third draw of the season on Saturday after coming from behind to earn a point at St Johnstone thanks to Niall McGinn’s equaliser with the result taking the Reds’ tally to six points from five matches.
The slow start has left the Dons in eighth place in the Premiership but the Dons boss has pointed to the fact his side has been in the same situation in two of his previous campaigns at Pittodrie and believes results will improve as the injuries begin to clear at the club.
He said: “The players have been working away fine but we’ve not been able to find any rhythm. We’ve had three draws which, if you take them in isolation, are fine. A draw with Rangers and away draws at Easter Road and McDiarmid Park are fine but when you put them together in a sequence of five games it changes the perception.
“For us, our focus is on winning games and getting a settled team on the park but we’re quite relaxed about the current situation. We’re in the same position in terms of points after five games as we’ve been in two of the previous five seasons here, two years ago and four years ago.
“This is not anything new for us as we’ve had to contend with European commitments and settling new players into the team.
“We’ve had one bad result in isolation after playing 85 minutes with 10 men. We know it is important we start winning games and as we’re getting a few more back we know we will pick up more points than we have done so far.”
The return of two key players has lightened the mood at Pittodrie with defender Mikey Devlin available after suspension while Manchester United’s on-loan striker James Wilson is in contention to make his first start for the club against Motherwell on Saturday.
The Dons boss said: “James trained on Tuesday and we’ll have a better idea after another training session on Thursday while Mikey Devlin is available.
“Having Devlin and Wilson back is a step in the right direction. It’s no secret we’ve struggled defensively this season and we’ve not been able to play the same back four from one game to the next.
“Having James back is important as he is a key player for us and we’re keen to get him up and running as quickly as possible.
“Lewis Ferguson has had a scan and seen a specialist. As expected there is a little bit of fluid on the knee but we hope it will settle down quickly although it’s touch and go whether he will be available this weekend.”