Typical. You fix the floorboards, then the roof springs a leak.
The frantic activity in the final days of the transfer window, with the result that all five of the centre forwards who were on the Dons’ books at the start of October were gone, represented a forceful throw of the dice, and constituted obvious acknowledgement by Derek McInnes that his attacking plan had become a hindrance in a defence-led press for Europe.
So to be two behind, courtesy of horrid defensive mistakes, before any of the new strikers had taken so much as a shot at goal, was as hard to swallow as it was to explain.
It is a source of some frustration that, having toiled estimably but fruitlessly in the shadow of some unarguably excellent Celtic sides, Aberdeen have become a disjointed and barren lot at just the moment where a run of half-decent results would have seen them right on top of a suddenly and extraordinarily feeble Parkhead outfit. After seven years of chapping at the door without reply, McInnes has left the step just as Neil Lennon threw it wide open.
Worse still, the Dons’ continuing sterility has seen them finally succeed not only in the long-threatened ceding of third place to Hibs, but also in dragging Livingston back into the Europa League race.
All three clubs will be keenly aware of the importance of a top-three finish, but only one is trending diametrically away from it.
With as few as twelve games to come, McInnes’ new recruits may well have fleeting Pittodrie careers, but they will need to make a major impact if the Dons’ podium ambition is to live much longer.
The manager has pushed in all his chips on three of a kind: he needs to generate a return or he will be out of credit.
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes calls on players to deliver after defeat against Livingston