Make no mistake, Aberdeen’s Premiership match against St Johnstone tomorrow is the club’s biggest game of the season.
Forget European football and cup finals, the Dons’ season has reached the stage where they have to get points on the board now.
A top-four finish is now gone after the 2-0 defeat at Kilmarnock on Saturday.
I hope the alarm bells are now ringing.
With Aberdeen just five points ahead of second-bottom Ross County, there needs to be a sense of urgency and a realisation of the predicament they find themselves in.
I cannot emphasise enough how big a game the St Johnstone game has become.
If the Perth Saints leave Pittodrie with all three points, then the Dons are going to find themselves in big trouble.
Tough questions need to be asked at Pittodrie all the way up to the board
I’ve urged the Aberdeen fans to do their bit and get behind the club in their time of need, but as the weeks have gone by and nothing has changed, I can understand their frustration.
They need to see something happening on the park and it just has not been happening.
Six wins all season in the league tells the story – and I know from my own experience as a player how quickly this can all turn.
In 1995, we were told we were “too good to go down” and as the weeks went by, it became clear just how real a prospect it was.
The fight for survival was brutal and the sense of relief at staying up was enormous.
The players from that period have long since retired, but the fans don’t forget and that is why the chants against the board at Rugby Park on Saturday did not come as a surprise.
Barry Robson has been relieved of his duties, Neil Warnock is now in charge and a search for a new permanent boss is under way.
But the run of matches without a win in the league is growing every week and when that happens and there is no manager to vent at, then it is inevitable the anger reaches boardroom level.
Chairman Dave Cormack needs to have a look at himself and really consider what has happened and what course of action he is going to take to rectify it.
There are tough questions to be asked here. Did the board see this coming? If so why did they not take more action in the January window?
Those are two huge questions before you even get on to the bigger picture of what happens beyond this campaign.
The board may want to hit the reset button and take a fresh look at their football operation – but they cannot ignore what’s happening now.
Are the Dons too nice?
The Dons need to find some form and quickly – as the bottom six is not where they want to be after the split.
The way that is shaping up it is going to be a real dog-eat-dog environment, and if Warnock is to be believed, there are serious concerns about whether the players have the fight for it.
There has been a lot of criticism levelled against this club this season, but being too nice has not been one of them.
I’ve listened to a lot of references to poor defending or an over-reliance on Bojan Miovski, but too nice? That’s a new one.
Warnock is an experienced manager and he will know questioning the players’ fight publicly is a risky strategy.
It may spark a response tomorrow, but by the same token it could lead to someone getting too aggressive and earning themselves a red card in the process.
That’s how fine a line the Dons are walking right now.
County’s win could be a turning point
Saturday could be a sliding doors moment in Ross County’s season.
I was at Victoria Park to watch a thriller between the Staggies and Livingston and the drama which unfolded in County’s 3-2 win was remarkable.
Don Cowie’s side blew Livi away in the first half and at half-time I would have told you Livi were as poor a side as I’ve seen all season.
But the arrival of former Don Bruce Anderson sparked a fightback from the visitors and the Livingston striker took his two goals well to haul his side level.
At that point I expected Livi to go on and win the game and really put a cat among the pigeons in the relegation battle – but Josh Sims had other ideas as he struck a late winner for County.
From level on 19 points to six points clear on 22 is a huge difference psychologically, and the look of pain etched on Livingston manager Davie Martindale’s face at Sims’ winner told the story.
He had watched his side dig themselves out of a hole only to fall back in it and it must have been gut-wrenching for him.
I’m not a fan of VAR, but one change I’ve loved seeing in our game is the split.
It really ups the ante and the last five games of the season are shaping up to be fantastic.
A title race, a race for Europe and a fight for survival all playing out in massive matches every week.
It’s going to be fantastic – if somewhat fraught for the clubs in the bottom half of the table.
Caley Thistle’s promotion dream is fading
Cameron Harper’s goal at Arbroath could turn out to be one of the most important of Caley Thistle’s season.
The Red Lichties were seconds away from closing the gap at the bottom of the table to three points before Harper fired home the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Gayfield.
The point keeps Duncan Ferguson’s side six points clear of Arbroath – but I fear the Premiership play-offs have drifted out of Caley Thistle’s reach this season.
Inverness trail fourth-placed Morton by 10 points and the Ton have a game in hand.
Barring a run being put together which we haven’t seen all season, you would have to say the chances of Caley Thistle reeling them in are slim.
The real fight right now is between Dunfermline, Airdrie, Queen’s Park and Ferguson’s side to avoid a ninth-place finish.
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