Aberdeen defender Stefan Gartenmann insists it is the players who are to blame for the Dons’ poor run of results.
Wednesday’s 1-0 home defeat by Kilmarnock extended the Dons’ run to one win in the last seven league matches and leaves Barry Robson’s side second bottom of the Scottish Premiership on 13 points.
Dons fans booed the team and a section of the supporters called for Robson to be sacked as the anger at the latest defeat, the third in the last four Premiership matches, left the manager in the firing line.
But Gartenmann has given Robson his full backing and said it is the players who are at fault.
The Danish defender, who joined the club on loan from Midtjylland in August, said: “I still have every belief as a manager. He brought me in and has been really good for me and for us.
“For example, the Hibs game the other day, there is nothing you can do as a manager when we are not scoring.
“We had chances, were playing the football he wants and it was working but we couldn’t put the ball in the net.
“We had a penalty and open goal misses. It is not on him, it is on us just now and we need to turn it around.
“I have full belief in him being the guy to do that.
“He is one of the best managers I have had and I think he will turn this around and he showed that last season as well.”
‘We are angry, too’ – Gartenmann
The Dons have had a few hard luck stories this season with key decisions going against them or individual errors costing the club points in the league.
Gartenmann knows that will be of small consolation to the support who are growing weary of weekly tales of what might have been.
When asked about the anger from the fans at full-time on Wednesday, Gartenmann said: “So are we and we understand their frustration.
“I hope that people can see that we are moving in a direction where we are playing better.
“In the Hibs game the other day we were dominating. I know we lost 2-0 and didn’t score but the stats from that game showed that we were playing so well and playing with confidence.
“It is tiring hearing about the process and deserved and not deserved but the feeling in this team is that once we get those goals, out of nowhere like Kilmarnock did, whether it deflects off somebody and goes in or comes off the post and goes in, it will turn for us.
“As I said, the club did it last season and I have done it many times before. We all believe we can do it again.”
Confidence has been dented
Recent results have dented confidence at Pittodrie but Gartenmann knows there is little time for the players to feel sorry for themselves.
Hearts visit Pittodrie on Saturday and the defender is putting his focus towards helping his side pick up a valuable three points.
He said: “When you don’t win games it hurts the confidence.
“We feel right now that things aren’t going our way but you can either feel sorry for yourself and feel everything is against you or you can try and keep your chin up and move on.
“That’s what we have to do.
“We play here on Saturday and all the fans want to see a win in a big game at home to Hearts.
“We feel once we get the win, score goals and get those clean sheets then things will turn.
“I have been here before. Many of the guys have been here before and the club has been here before.
“We all know what it takes to turn things around and we all believe we can do it.”
Dons fortunes could change within a matter of weeks
It has been a rollercoaster campaign for the Dons so far this season with a creditable European campaign and a place in next weekend’s League Cup final offset by three wins in 14 league games.
With a busy run of games ahead before the winter break on January 2 Gartenmann knows Aberdeen’s fortunes can change quickly.
He said: “In two or three weeks we can sit here again and maybe we have turned it around or maybe not but hopefully we will be sitting with two or three wins in the league and we win the cup – who knows?
“That is football for you.
“We could have won the game at Hibs and beaten Kilmarnock and everything would have been different but now we are in trouble. Let’s put it that way.
“Normally, in these situations you start to talk about the manager’s decisions in the dressing room and people start to complain about this and that.
“I don’t hear that in there.
“People are still confident we will turn this around.
“People aren’t happy but we will be ready to go again tomorrow to win and to get Pittodrie bouncing again.”
Conversation