Even during Aberdeen’s darkest times this season, defender Ross McCrorie’s belief in the squad never faltered.
It held firm throughout a bleak January when the Reds suffered a run of humiliating defeats which led to the sacking of manager Jim Goodwin.
Despite the Dons slide into the bottom six during that troubled time, McCrorie looked at his struggling team-mates – and still saw a “top team”.
That unwavering faith has been repaid with a resurgence in fortunes under the guidance of manager Barry Robson.
A run of five straight wins has propelled the in-form Dons up to third in the Premiership table.
The Reds will tonight bid to make it six consecutive wins when facing Ross County in Dingwall.
McCrorie, 25, said: “I always had full belief in the squad, even during that sticky spell.
“I knew there were top players within the squad and that we had a real top team this year.
“It’s probably the best squad of players we’ve had since I’ve been at Aberdeen.
“We have a lot of energy, a lot of legs within the team and a lot of quality as well.”
‘We’ve got a real top team this year’
In late January, Robson took over a team that had suffered three consecutive humiliating defeats.
The Dons had crashed to the worst result in the club’s history, a 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat at sixth-tier Darvel.
That humiliation was sandwiched in between heavy away league losses at Hearts (5-0) and Hibs (6-0).
McCrorie said: “Every team goes through a sticky patch and it’s just having that mentality within the squad to get through it.
“We have quite a tight knit group as well.
“It’s good that we’ve managed to pull through that sticky patch and get through the other end.
“I think throughout the season there’s been a lot of ups and downs.
“The squad itself, there’s talent littered throughout it.
“We’ve got a real top team this year.”
Resurgence orchestrated by Robson
Robson and assistant Steve Agnew were place in interim charge of a team in crisis following Goodwin’s sacking on January 28.
Aberdeen are on the up under Robson and Agnew, with six wins from eight games.
McCrorie said: “For whatever reasons, through the middle of the season, there were a few problems.
“We weren’t picking up the points we should’ve.
“But since the gaffer’s come in there’s been changes to the system – a few tweaks here and there – plus changes to personnel.
“We’re seeing the fruits of it, we’re getting good results.
“We’re spending a lot of time on the training pitch to work on different aspects of the game and what the gaffer wants us to improve on.
“We’ve had a real good run of results recently and it’s up to us to continue that.
“I’ve always had the confidence in the squad that we’ve got a right good group here.”
What has boss Robson changed?
Aberdeen’s search for a new manager to success Goodwin, overseen by chief executive Alan Burrows and director of football Steven Gunn, was undertaken Robson looked after the first team.
The Dons were inundated with applications and also employed an external agency to unearth candidates who met the club’s criteria for the post.
A shortlist of six was compiled, then whittled down to three.
Those three candidates, Robson among them, were interviewed extensively.
Following that interview process, the board decided to confirm Robson as Reds manager until the end of the season.
What has Robson changed during his time in charge which has brought such a marked improvement in form?
McCrorie said: “We’ve had different tactics within the system, while the formation’s been changing.
“We can do that within games.
“We’ve also been pressing higher up the pitch.
“So, it’s just different aspects while we’ve also been tidying up with small details.
“Nobody’s cutting yards – everybody’s backing each other.
“We’ve got a real good group, a real good camaraderie within the boys here – probably the best I’ve had at Aberdeen. Everybody’s like brothers. It’s top.”
Seven ‘cup finals’ remaining
Robson has galvanised the Dons and led them to the club’s longest league winning streak since 2015.
Aberdeen missed out on European qualification last season for the first time in eight years, but Robson has now led the Reds back into the race for a European spot.
McCrorie insists there can be no let up in the momentum.
Such is the importance of the remaining seven Premiership games, the versatile defender/midfielder has described them all as “cup finals”.
He said: “Look at the results since the gaffer’s come in.
“They’ve been brilliant. We’ve accumulated a lot of points and managed to get ourselves up to third.
“But we just need to take each game as it comes.
“We’ve still got seven cup finals to go – seven massive games for us to see where we can finish.”
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