Boss Jim Goodwin has challenged Aberdeen to take care of their own top six business before looking at results elsewhere.
A frustrating 2-2 draw at bottom club Dundee ensured the Dons remain rooted in the Premiership bottom six with just one game remaining before the split.
Aberdeen are two points behind sixth-placed Hibs, but Goodwin’s side have a superior goal difference of one goal.
The Dons need to beat Ross County at Pittodrie on Saturday and hope Hibs lose or draw against Hearts at Tynecastle.
That permutation would be enough for Aberdeen to secure top six action and keep alive hopes of European qualification.
Many of the Dons supporters will have one eye on events in Edinburgh on Saturday, while also cheering on the Dons.
However, Goodwin warned the Reds they must do their job first by beating Ross County – and then hope for the best.
He said: “One positive we can take is the fact we are still in it.
“Albeit we are relying on Hibs not winning their game against Hearts.
“If we can beat Ross County, which is not going to be easy or straightforward, then, as long as Hibs don’t win, we can get top six.
“Malky Mackay (Ross County manager) will be saying the exact same thing to his players as well I’m sure.
“If we had won the game at Dundee, it would have been in our own hands on Saturday.
“We would have been sitting in the top six now, knowing if we beat Ross County it would be all done.
“All we have to do now is dust ourselves down, not feel sorry for ourselves, work hard and put a team on the park that will give us the best chance of getting maximum points.”
Beaton had ‘best view on the pitch’
Goodwin was left frustrated at a call by referee John Beaton in the build –up to Dundee’s first goal.
Substitute Charlie Adam twice hit Lewis Ferguson’s face with a flailing arm in the lead-up to the goal, yet Beaton let play continue.
Within seconds, Dundee were awarded a free-kick for a foul by Declan Gallagher on Jordan Marshall.
From Adam’s dead-ball delivery, Jordan McGhee netted.
The Dons boss said: “People will say I’m making excuses, but I can only call it how I see it.
“That is the fact of the matter. That is what happened.
“I don’t understand how he could miss it as he has the best view on the whole pitch.
“It wasn’t just once. Charlie has pushed away once with his hand and caught Lewis and then did it again a split-second later.
“It is an easy decision.”
Frustration at dead-ball defending
Goodwin was just as frustrated at the failure of his defence to deal with the dead-ball delivery from Adam for both goals.
He said: “We don’t deal with the cross into the box and we knew the quality Charlie Adam is going to put the set-play in with.
“We have to deal with it better at the back stick.
“The second one was the exact same.
“Charlie is very experienced, takes the nudge from Watkins and goes over quite easily.
“Again it was fantastic delivery, but we need to take control of that situation.
“We have some big guys in there in the middle of goal and Danny Mullen shouldn’t be getting the kind of header in he got.”
Two goals should be enough for a win
Aberdeen were twice ahead in a game billed as a ‘must win’ courtesy of superb strikes from Calvin Ramsay and Ross McCrorie.
However, they were also twice pegged back through goals by McGhee and Mullen’s late leveller.
Goodwin said: “We came here to try to win the game and deserved to win.
“I thought we were the better team over the whole piece and had more than 20 attempts on target.
“Almost half of those were on target and we hit the cross bar in the first half.
“We had a good attempt from Ramirez cleared off the line.
“At half-time we could have been two or three up, which would have made it a far more comfortable afternoon than it was.
“You have to give credit to Dundee as they never gave up and kept going.
“Two very good goals from our point of view. But two extremely poor goals defensively to concede.
“Two goals in any game should be enough to take maximum points, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.”
🚀 Calvin Ramsay 👏🏽
⚽ A first ever Aberdeen goal for our @AberdeenFCYouth Academy graduate.#StandFree | @calvinramsay03 pic.twitter.com/NwkhzPBjpw
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) April 3, 2022
Ramsay injury ‘nothing too serious’
Teenage right-back Ramsay was taken off in the second half having suffered a head knock.
Goodwin is confident Ramsay will be available for the clash with Ross County.
He said: “Calvin took a little bang on the head and wasn’t feeling right towards the end of the game.
“It is nothing too serious. I don’t think it is concussion or anything like that.
“He just wasn’t feeling great after, so we made the change.”
