The onus should be on Aberdeen players now to dig themselves – and their manager – out of the hole they find themselves in.
They need to get going. It’s way past that time now. Ten games without a result is far too long. It’s been a long time since they’ve got that far.
I feel for Stephen Glass. He’s an ex-team-mate and I know how a nice a guy he is. When you look at the commitment of moving his family back from America – I don’t want Dave Cormack to pull the trigger too early.
I’d like to see at least another half-a-dozen games to see what happens. Stephen is under no illusions that it’s a results-driven business. He knows how it works.
All I would say is give the boy a chance. I know from people inside the stadium that he’s working really hard and that should buy him more time.
These players are not bad players, but I think a few need to take a look in the mirror. It has to come down to them making their choices on the park, and defensively they’re making the wrong choices and offensively they’re making the wrong choices. Something has to improve at both ends of the park.
It’s not like they’re drawing a lot of games or not scoring goals. They’re getting beat in games, so it has to change – and pretty soon.
They all know they win as a team and lose as a team. Certainly, none of them can complain if Stephen decides to give them a short time on the bench.
The manager has shown faith in them by bringing them to Aberdeen. Now they’ve got to justify it, not just for their own pride, but because you want to show him and the fans that you made the right decision coming to Aberdeen to make them a better team.
When we played in that team in 1995, against Dunfermline in the relegation play-offs, we won three or four games in the build-up to that by getting together and having a good spirit amongst us.
The mood in the dressing room will be horrible. You get scared if you concede the first goal – if they concede the first goal against Hibs on Saturday, the whole mood of the stadium will change.
It’s imperative they keep Hibs out. They could be coming up as a wounded animal as that was unlike them getting turned over on Saturday.
But you could say the same for Aberdeen. They could be hurting. They’ll be getting bad press most of the week up to the game and Stephen will take that on his shoulders, as long as it stays away from the players.
The players perhaps need to get themselves together, without the manager. I’m sure Scott Brown has done that. Sometimes you need to talk as a team and keep the manager out of it, have your say.
Players sometimes won’t speak up when the manager is there. They need to get themselves together, because Saturday is a big one.
I would urge the crowd to stick with them and help them as much as they can. They certainly did when we were facing relegation. I don’t think we’d have crossed the line without them.
Caley Thistle’s experience shining through
Inverness didn’t play well in certain stages of the game on Saturday, but they got their goals and kept their clean sheet. You can’t argue with that.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I think the experience they’ve got in the team will help. That was a mistake County made last year in letting too many of them go.
Released Kilmarnock defender Kirk Broadfoot in particular – everybody was looking round at that signing. He looks after himself from what I’m told and he’s played nearly every game.
He’s getting managed well. Billy Dodds gives him the Monday off so he can stay down the road with his family. These boys are getting managed properly, so they can be fit and ready for the games coming up.
I’m a wee bit surprised Kilmarnock have slipped up as much as they have, but that’s good for Inverness. They just need to keep going and if they can get more of a gap, they could be sitting 10 or 12 points in front and it’ll be difficult for Kilmarnock to catch them.
Ryan Christie deserves praise for choosing Bournemouth
I’ve been following Ryan Christie’s progress at Bournemouth and he seems to be doing great down there.
This could turn out to be his best move yet. It’s important when you go to a new club that you bide your time to get in the team, but he’s now an established first-team player.
He’s cemented his position in the team and there’s been a lot of glowing reports about him. I love the fact he’s gone down there and not just stayed in Scotland.
Any player who’s got ambition wants to go down to England and try get into the Premier League. Plus, he’s playing a big part for Scotland as well, so things are back on the move for Ryan.