Aberdeen are sinking like the Titanic and manager Jim Goodwin will either save the ship or go down with it.
It is the squad Goodwin built that were humiliated 5-0 at Hearts.
Aberdeen were embarrassed by Hearts, a club they should be competing with for that third-place finish.
The pressure is mounting on Goodwin and his side must deliver a comprehensive win against Darvel in the Scottish Cup on Monday.
I’m not talking about scraping through to the next round.
The Dons need to win by a healthy margin against the junior minnows.
Aberdeen were humiliated at Tynecastle and have now won just once in eight games since the winter break.
Dons supporters deserve answers
I felt sorry for the Dons supporters who travelled to Edinburgh on Wednesday night in sub-zero temperatures to be served up that shambles.
Time and time again the Red Army have followed the Dons in force away from home, only to be let down.
What is making the Dons so poor on the road?
Aberdeen supporters need answers. And they also need to fix it quickly.
If it isn’t fixed there is a real concern the Dons will be dragged right down the table.
At the moment I would not back this Aberdeen team to beat any club in the Premiership away from home.
After Darvel, the Reds face Hibs away. Both are absolutely must-win games.
Aberdeen midfielder Ross McCrorie was spot on when he said some of the players in the team lack the right mentality.
Baffled and infuriated
It was glaringly obvious at Tynecastle where the Reds were steamrollered.
What made it so frustrating was Aberdeen had played well in the semi-final loss to Rangers on Sunday.
Okay, they didn’t win but at least the Reds went down with a fight.
Which is why I am so baffled, and infuriated, that they could serve up such a shocking performance at Tynecastle.
Aberdeen just didn’t turn up for a game of vital significance in the fight to finish third.
That is completely unacceptable.
Players need to be up for every game
Fatigue or injuries are not an excuse for that.
Players are elite athletes and had three days to recover after 120 minutes of play at Hampden. That is more than enough.
The squad should also be strong enough to deal with any injuries.
You cannot be up for one game at Hampden and not the next.
Players must be on it in every game, fired up and focused to go for only a win.
Regardless of the venue or occasion, be it Hampden, Tynecastle or Darvel, it should be maximum effort and fight in every single match.
That will be tested at non-league Darvel who will be fired up for the biggest game of their lives.
Red alert should be sounding
This is their moment to shine.
And if Aberdeen aren’t up for it they will quickly discover how important the right mentality really is.
Darvel will have it, there’s no doubt about that.
Away from the cup, Aberdeen are just two points ahead of seventh-placed St Mirren who also have a game in hand.
The red alert should be sounding that the Dons are only nine points ahead of Kilmarnock who occupy the promotion relegation play-off spot.
The defensive problems are glaringly obvious
Aberdeen are on the slide and it needs to stop now before they drop down the league and into danger.
The Dons have 10 days left of the transfer window to fix the glaringly obvious problem in defence.
Goodwin must sign at least one centre-back and right back before the January transfer window shuts.
That is an absolute necessity.
The defence is the hole that is taking the ship down.
How far down remains to be seen.
No blame for returning Joe Lewis
Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis cannot be blamed for the shocking loss to Hearts even though he picked the ball out from the back of his net five times.
Lewis was pitched in at Tynecastle for his first start of the season due to an injury to Kelle Roos.
It was a nightmare return for Lewis as he was completely let down by his defence.
There are 10 players ahead of Lewis and it is their job to protect him, to stop shots in on goal.
Teams defend from the front and then the back four is the last line of protection.
Lewis was let down and left exposed by his team-mates.
He is no miracle worker and there is only so much he can do if players are clean through on goal or left unmarked at close range.
It is not as if Lewis spilled a shot or dropped the ball. He didn’t.
Hearts fifth goal is the only one he should be saving – but the game was over as a contest by then.
Lewis has shown throughout his Dons career that he is an excellent keeper.
He was first choice for six seasons until Kelle Roos took that mantle from him.
With Roos out injured Lewis is set to remain in goals.
He will need far more protection from his defence who were posted missing at Tynecastle.
Cove Rangers back on track
Hopefully Cove Rangers are back on track after Morgyn Neill netted an injury time goal to draw 2-2 with Raith Rovers.
Cove had suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to Queens Park in new manager Paul Hartley’s first game in charge following his return.
Securing that late equaliser could be the catalyst to kick-start Cove’s season under Hartley.
The first season in the Championship has been a learning process for Cove. Hopefully the only way is up from now.
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