Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin has challenged his side to send the club into the World Cup break in third place in the Scottish Premiership.
The Dons remain in third despite their midweek loss at Livingston and can cement their standing as the best of the rest in the division with victory against Dundee United at Pittodrie tomorrow.
It has been a topsy-turvy start to the campaign for Aberdeen. The Dons have a League Cup semi-final to look forward to in January against Rangers, while their home form in the league has been impressive with five wins out of six.
However, the exciting brand of football and consistency at Pittodrie has been tempered by a disappointing return of two Premiership wins from eight on the road.
Goodwin knows the away record needs to improve after the break, but believes there is cause for optimism heading into the shutdown.
He said: “We’re sitting third in the table and it’s really compact down to eighth place, but this is where we wanted to be.
“We have to win on Saturday to make sure we stay there.
“It hasn’t been all that disappointing. There have been a number of positives, but we understand we need to sort out the shape of the team on the road.”
No repeat of slow start in midweek
Goodwin was frustrated at his side’s slow start in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at Livingston, as they conceded two goals in 17 minutes, and is looking for a response from his side against United.
The Tangerines, who beat the Dons 4-0 for their first win of the season last month, moved off the bottom of the division thanks to a 4-0 win against Kilmarnock at Tannadice on Wednesday, and Goodwin knows his side cannot afford a repeat of their sluggish opening at Livi.
He said: “It’s always important to show a positive reaction after a negative result.
“I don’t feel the way I did after the Dundee United game, which was a disaster from start to finish.
“The supporters have got behind the team and we’re extremely grateful for the lengths they go to come and support us.
“They travelled to Dundee in great numbers and we gave them nothing at all.
“At Livingston, I hope we showed we are a team they can be proud of and can take some encouragement from the second half – but we have to ensure there isn’t a repeat of that opening 25 minutes again.”
Consistency key as United visit Pittodrie
The horrendous start in Livingston shocked the Aberdeen manager, but – having watched his players produce a much-improved performance in the second half – Goodwin will be looking to his side to carry on where they left off at Tony Macaroni Arena.
He said: “It was one of the poorest starts to a game we’ve made all season. We didn’t cope with Livingston’s fast start, they did the basics better than we did in the first 25 minutes and we couldn’t cope.
“It hurts me to say that because I haven’t seen it a great deal this season where we’ve been outfought or outbattled, and we can only apologise to the supporters for that.
“Thereafter, for the last 15 minutes of the first half and the whole of the second half, I thought the boys were excellent, but we can’t mask the fact we gave Livingston two goals of a start.
“If the level of performance had continued for the full 90 minutes, I’d be extremely worried, but there were a lot of positives on the night – particularly from the second 45 minutes.
“It was one of the most one-sided performances I’ve seen for a while, where we played good football, created numerous opportunities, but just couldn’t get the second goal.”
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