If there was any doubt remaining Friday’s Scottish Cup win at Clyde showed it is absolutely vital Aberdeen keep Bojan Miovski at Pittodrie this month.
With little more than a week remaining of the January transfer window the Dons’ number nine remains at Pittodrie.
For the sake of their season it is imperative that is still the case come February 1.
I’m fast running out of superlatives for the North Macedonian international.
He was left to feed off scraps on Friday yet still conjured a goal out of nothing to put his side in front in their 2-0 win against the Bully Wee.
If the Dons were to lose Miovski this month then they would be in big trouble. He is the best striker I’ve seen in years at Pittodrie and replacing him would be a huge undertaking in this window.
Service in short supply against Clyde
Aberdeen were comfortable at New Douglas Park but I would have found it so frustrating to be leading the line in this Dons team on Friday.
They were playing a lower league side and had all the possession but I felt as if I watching a team with the handbrake on.
I know cup ties are all about getting through and after last year’s exit at Darvel a Dons win against lower league opposition is welcome.
But they knew they would dominate possession and that they had superior players to Ian McCall’s squad.
Despite that I struggled to see much in the way of risk being taken by Aberdeen.
The balls forward were not of good enough quality, crosses were too slow in coming into the box and I lost count of the number of times I watched the back four exchange passes back and forth.
Maybe I’m old fashioned but where are the wingers these days?
If ever a game was crying out for a player with some pace and a trick in his locker to beat an opposition full back it was the one I watched on Friday.
Is the four-man defence here to stay?
It was interesting to see the Dons stick with a back four for the second game running after playing all season with a three-man defence.
Clearly there is scope to change the system quickly in games if required but it looks to me the players are much more comfortable in this shape.
Back-to-back clean sheets for the first time this season would reinforce that.
It will be interesting to see if Barry Robson sticks with that approach in what is a huge week ahead.
If the Dons can return with maximum points from their two away trips to St Johnstone and Hearts this week then they will be firmly back in the hunt as they look to reel in a Hearts side which currently holds a 14 point lead on them.
With games in hand it’s all to play for at Aberdeen but they have to make those matches count.
A rare win at Tynecastle would not only be overdue, it would be timely too given the circumstances.
Derek Adams’ patience has snapped
I wish I had a penny for Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor’s thoughts right now.
He has only been back a short period but Staggies boss Derek Adams is already proving to be a box office attraction off the pitch given his remarkable post-match interviews.
In a matter of weeks he has gone from criticising the standard of Scottish football and bemoaning the lack of entertainment to wondering aloud whether he had really understood the size of the task he had taken on in returning to County.
"Is the job a bigger one than you first thought?" 🤔👀
Derek Adams speaking after his Ross County side suffer a 3-0 defeat to Partick Thistle and exit the Scottish Cup. #BBCFootball #ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/Q1jtS2YnHo
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) January 20, 2024
Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Partick Thistle was a painful, pitiful way to exit the Scottish Cup.
I watched one passage of play where County had a five on two attack and they failed to make it count.
That moment reinforced the glaring issue which has been at the club for the last 18 months – a lack of firepower.
I haven’t seen a Ross County player capable of scoring 20 goals a season for a number of years now.
I know they are hard to come by but with Yan Dhanda’s deliveries and big Jordan White’s ability to be a menace in the penalty area, you would hope someone could reap the benefits alongside them.
Derek speaks from the heart and the fact he made a triple substitution on Saturday at half-time spoke volumes of how unimpressed he was with his side.
I know he will be working every hour to bring players in and he needs to because it is clear he is not accepting what he is getting from the squad he has.
Big changes are coming if the manager gets his way and with another huge test at Celtic Park looming this weekend he will be desperate to make quite a few before Saturday.
Samuel could be the missing link for Caley Thistle
The lack of a goal threat at Ross County makes their decision to let Alex Samuel join Caley Thistle on loan all the more remarkable.
Samuel had a debut to remember for Inverness on Saturday as he scored one and missed a penalty in what was an all action debut in Caley Jags’ 4-0 win against Broomhill.
He was a deserved man of the match and looks exactly the sort of player they have been crying out for.
I’m not doing the striker any favours with the comparison but hear me out.
He reminds me of Kenny Dalglish in his strength, workrate and ability to drop off and hold the ball up.
I would not be so daft as to make a like for like comparison to King Kenny but Samuel will be a terrific foil for the likes of Billy Mckay in the second half of the season.
A home tie against Hibernian is Caley Thistle’s reward and for me it is a winnable tie for Duncan Ferguson’s side.
But for now, cup dreams must wait. The pressing priority is hauling Caley Thistle back up the Championship table.
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