Aberdeen must ensure it is a disappointing return to Pittodrie for former manager Derek McInnes at the weekend.
McInnes will return to the stadium for the first time since being sacked by the Dons in March last year.
He will be desperate to leave the Granite City with a win and a point proved.
However, the Dons also have their own point to prove, that they can bounce back from the disappointment of losing 3-1 at Hibs in their last game.
I have no doubt Aberdeen supporters will give McInnes a warm reception before kick-off.
They will appreciate that he led the Dons to the League Cup in 2014 and regular European qualification.
As well as ending a 19-year trophy drought, McInnes also led the Reds to the three cup finals, although they lost those to Celtic.
McInnes can return to Pittodrie with his head held high after everything he achieved during his time at the club.
As a manager, there is one inevitability. When you join a club at some point down the road you will ultimately be axed.
That has happened to every manager in the game and it is something they all accept.
McInnes has moved on to Kilmarnock who he led to promotion to the top flight last season.
There will be a warm reception from the Red Army for McInnes but that will stop as soon as the game starts.
The Dons need to secure three points.
Aberdeen have slipped back into the bottom six of the Premiership after taking just one point from the last two games.
The Reds were ahead in both those matches only to let the advantage slip.
They raced into an early lead against Hibs only to lose 3-1.
However, that game turned on the dismissal of Liam Scales near halftime and the subsequent penalty award.
In the previous game, the Dons went ahead late on at Ross County, only to concede with the last kick- of the game.
Those are painful, and costly points to lose as the Dons are now in the bottom half of the table.
Aberdeen have to make it count when they are ahead in games and force home that advantage to get three points.
Now they have to start rebuilding momentum again by beating Kilmarnock.
The Premiership looks to be so tight this season that a string of wins can rocket a team right up the table.
On the other hand, a run of bad results could send a team plummeting down the league.
Aberdeen must ensure they are a team on an upwards trajectory.
Unfortunately, the Dons were denied an immediate opportunity to put things right after the Easter Road defeat.
When they face McInnes’ Kilmarnock it will be two weeks since that loss at Hibs.
Hopefully, over that time they will have had to regroup and players with any niggling injuries will have recovered.
Aberdeen have eight Premiership games and a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final before the five-week shutdown for the World Cup.
It is imperative the Reds go into that long break sitting high up in the table and in the last four of the cup.
The first step to achieving that begins on Saturday by ensuring McInnes leaves Pittodrie empty-handed.
Magnificent Scotland on the rise
The Scotland team did the nation proud with three superb results to win their Nations League group.
Under the management of Steve Clarke the Scottish squad have progressed at an impressive rate.
Lets not forget when the Nations League was first introduced Scotland were in League C.
Now after two promotions in three Nations League campaigns the Scots are in the elite League A alongside Europe’s big hitters.
It is a tremendous achievement and brings many rewards such as being elevated into pot two for the Euro 2024 draw next month.
Scotland also receive a play-off spot for Euro 2024 should they fail to qualify for the tournament via the traditional route.
It is all so positive at the moment. Scotland were superb in the 3-0 defeat of Ukraine and played fantastic, fast-paced, attacking football.
The 2-1 victory against Republic of Ireland showed their fighting spirit as they came from behind in a physical battle.
And in the 0-0 draw with Ukraine the Scots showed their nerve in a high-pressure game to get the job done.
Scotland are very much on the rise under Clarke and it is wonderful to see.
My only regret is that the Scots failed to take the chance to qualify for the World Cup.
The World Cup dream ended when losing the play-off semi-final 3-1 to Ukraine in the summer.
That defeat came after a long, hard season for the Scottish players.
However, they rallied from the disappointment of losing out on the Qatar World Cup and showed their quality and spirit.
Show faith in teen defender Milne
Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin should pitch teenage centre-back Jack Milne in from the start against Kilmarnock on Saturday.
Goodwin faces a centre-back problem as Liam Scales is suspended having been sent off in the loss at Hibs after two yellow cards.
The temptation when short at centre-back has been to move Ross McCrorie from midfield to the heart of the defence.
However, that takes away McCrorie’s influence from midfield. The better option is to start Milne against Kilmarnock.
He has already featured off the bench in Premier Sports Cup games this season.
Young players need a chance to prove themselves, and this could be Milne’s.
Conversation