Fired-up captain Graeme Shinnie has warned Premiership rivals the fighting spirit is back at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen were in freefall following a run of defeats at the turn of the year that Shinnie blasted as “unacceptable”.
That crash in form resulted in the sacking of Jim Goodwin with Barry Robson placed in interim charge of the first team.
Under Robson’s guidance Shinnie reckons the Dons’ bite has returned.
A 3-1 victory at Dundee United made it three wins from the last four matches under Robson.
That run has reignited the bid for European qualification.
Shinnie will demand there is no drop in that fighting spirit as they aim to salvage a troubled season with a Euro slot.
He said: “The fighting spirit is there now.
“You have to show that side in this league.
“Against Dundee United we fought and scrapped then the quality shone through in the end.
“We showed what we were about in the second half at Tannadice.
“The last couple of games have been good.
“We came through against Livingston (1-0 win) and United which showed the fight and desire in the team.
“We are moving in the right direction again.”
‘We are back in the fight for European places’
Aberdonian Shinnie is on loan from Championship bottom club Wigan Athletic until the end of the season.
The Scotland international is contracted to Wigan until summer 2024.
The 31-year-old recently said any thoughts of his future beyond the summer were on the backburner as he focused entirely on resurrecting the Dons’ season.
Shinnie was Aberdeen captain in a previous spell at Pittodrie before moving in summer 2019 to Derby County.
Interim boss Robson sanctioned the loan move of Aberdeen captain Anthony Stewart to MK Dons on transfer deadline day.
He then named Shinnie as captain.
Shinnie’s fully committed, all action, passionate style of play has been fundamental to the revival in form.
He is determined to keep the momentum going when the Reds host third-placed Hearts at Pittodrie on Saturday.
Shinnie said: “We have gone through a bad spell but we are back in the fight for European places which is very good.
“We are not going to get ahead of ourselves as there is still a long way to go.
“However results have been good to get us back into it.
“We need to continue to keep winning games and climbing.
“We are in the business end of the season and are looking forward to Hearts.”
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‘We had to fight and scrap more’
Only six weeks ago the Dons were in crisis after three successive humiliating away defeats in succession.
A 5-0 loss at Hearts was followed days later by a Scottish Cup exit at sixth tier Darvel.
Then the Reds crashed 6-0 to Hibs at Easter Road with Goodwin axed straight after that defeat.
Aberdeen’s hunt for a new manager continues, but the form has changed.
The Reds are now just two points behind fourth placed Hibs who occupy a European qualifying position.
When asked what has changed to spark the upturn if form Shinnie isolated two factors – Robson and the return of ‘”fight” in the team.
Shinnie said: “The Hibs result was unacceptable.
“We let the club down that day.
“With that and the Hearts and Darvel games, it was a week of huge disappointment.
“It’s a different style with Barry coming in, a different manager.
“We knew we had to fight and scrap more and it was unacceptable to be conceding that amount of goals.”
‘Unacceptable’ defensive record
The arrival of centre-back Mattie Pollock and Angus MacDonald late in the January transfer window has also helped strengthen a vulnerable defence.
Pollock was secured on loan from Championship Watford with MacDonald signing until the end of the season having left Swindon Town.
Shinnie said: “Defensively we had to sort it out because the Hearts and the Hibs results were unacceptable.
“The number of goals we conceded was unacceptable.
“It’s important we keep it tight in defence as it gives us a platform.
“When you have the front players we have you always have a chance of scoring goals.”
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