Aberdeen require another centre-half to give them the quality and depth to have a good season.
Liam Scales was ineligible for Sunday’s 2-0 Premiership defeat to Celtic because he’s on loan from the Hoops.
With David Bates not involved that meant Ross McCrorie was moved from midfield to defence with youngster Jack Milne the only alternative on the bench.
Bates saw a move to Legia Warsaw fall through last week, but it looks as if he’s on his way out of Pittodrie.
If that conversation has taken place and it’s been decided the Scotland international will move on, then the sooner it happens the better.
The centre of defence is an area which needs strengthened.
Anthony Stewart did well enough against Celtic. He appears to be someone who enjoys defending and reads the game well, as he demonstrated with a number of interceptions.
Stewart and Scales built up a good relationship in the Premier Sports Cup group stage games.
But, if Bates is out of the picture, there aren’t too many other options, and taking McCrorie out of midfield to play in defence means you lose a lot in the middle of the park.
Manager Jim Goodwin is looking to bring in a couple more new recruits and I would hope a centre-back is one.
To have the tools to compete over the course of a full season, at least another two players are required to allow Aberdeen to cope with injuries which may come their way.
Clean sheets key
The defence is the foundation of any team. Football hasn’t changed that much over the years that teams no longer be try to keep as many clean sheets as possible.
That doesn’t mean you have to approach games defensively, it’s about getting the right people in the defensive positions who provide confidence that you won’t lose goals.
I know coaches’ approach to the game has changed a bit, but it hasn’t changed that much that shut-outs are no longer important.
It’s getting more difficult to keep clean sheets, because full-backs get forward more than in the past.
You need to have good cover in central defence.
Looking at Aberdeen’s goalkeepers and full-backs, they have good cover – but at centre-back I think they need another so that McCrorie doesn’t have to be moved from midfield.
Grounds for optimism
My assessment of Aberdeen at this stage is that they are very much a work in progress.
There are some issues with fitness, because some players have only just arrived in the country and at Pittodrie. You have to factor that in.
I didn’t think it was a bad performance, but it also wasn’t up there with one of the best Dons performances at Celtic Park.
I remain optimistic about the season ahead and the new signings have shown enough so far to allow the Red Army to be upbeat.
Beforehand it was probably expected that Celtic would beat Aberdeen, but I don’t think either side were at their best.
But for the Dons the outlook for the season is still positive.
Finishing third or fourth should be the target for Aberdeen and, at this stage in the rebuild, I don’t think anybody should be too disappointed about the result at Celtic Park.
Looking ahead this month, Aberdeen play St Mirren, Motherwell and Livingston at home and face St Johnstone away.
There is the potential in that run to take maximum points and, come the end of August, the Reds could be sitting in a very good position.
Striker has to be signed if Ramirez goes
Christian Ramirez’s future remains uncertain and, if does leave Aberdeen, they need to bring in another striker.
When Bojan Miovski was being subbed on Sunday, it seemed like Ramirez would be the obvious choice as the replacement.
But the American remained on the bench and the questions about his future remain.
Luis Lopes was brought on and, on the evidence of what I saw against Celtic, he doesn’t look like an out-and-out striker.
When Miovski was on, although he didn’t get too much service, the home defenders didn’t cope with him particularly well, especially in the air.
Once the North Macedonian went off, Aberdeen lost that physical presence.
As observers watching on, all we can do is read the signals when it comes to the Ramirez situation.
In the second half of last season, the striker struggled and drifted out of the team towards the end of the campaign.
Now, Miovski has arrived and been given the number nine with Ramirez being handed 99.
Then at Celtic Park, when Miovski is being withdrawn and Ramirez isn’t brought on, those things suggest his future may lie elsewhere.
If Ramirez does go then another striker needs to be brought in, as last season one of Aberdeen’s problems was that they were too reliant on Ramirez.
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