Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron can fill the void in leadership opened up by the absence of Graeme Shinnie in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Influential captain Shinnie is suspended for Saturday’s semi clash at Hampden with Celtic.
Midfielder Shinnie has been the team’s leader throughout the campaign and it is in his DNA to be a captain.
His absence is a major blow for Aberdeen as Shinnie has showed his leadership and quality throughout the season.
Being without the 32-year-old will throw a lot of responsibility on some of the older, more experienced players.
However I believe one of the team’s younger players, Barron, can fill that leadership gap on Saturday.
Barron is capable of having a major impact where he dominates the ball and the game.
At 21-years-old Barron is still young but he is the Scotland under-21 captain.
When I look at the squad I don’t see too many that can step into Shinnie’s shoes.
But Barron can by making sure he is keen to be on the ball and take responsibility offensively and defensively.
Beating Celtic is a big ask but it is certainly not impossible.
Celtic have not been at their best this season and manager Brendan Rodgers has also been under pressure following some poor results.
Aberdeen must go to Hampden with a positive mindset to take the game to Celtic.
On the break and transitions Aberdeen must get more support to leading scorer Bojan Miovski who cuts a lone figure up front at times.
Miovski needs a bit of help.
I would imagine Celtic will have the bulk of possession but when Aberdeen have the ball they must make it count.
Aberdeen can go into the semi-final with the plus point that they registered a second successive clean sheet in the 0-0 draw with Dundee.
Conceding goals has been a problem for most of the season and the Reds have now registered two consecutive shut-outs.
The defence appears to have been sorted out and are far more miserly.
For a team to be challenging for third place in the Premiership a defensive solidity is needed.
That has not been present in the Dons for most of this campaign.
There was impetus and tempo to the game from Aberdeen during the first half against Dundee.
However Dundee manager Tony Docherty made a change at half-time and after that the game swung towards the Dens Park club.
Frustratingly, Aberdeen are struggling to deliver a strong, solid performance over a full 90 minutes.
There hasn’t been many of them this season.
The Dons now face the depressing situation of having to play out the Premiership in the bottom six post-split.
There can be no doubt about the Dons’ attitude or work rate and it doesn’t look as though their heads are down.
However it is largely uninspiring and unproductive from Aberdeen with few chances being created.
There is still a lot of work to be done but the work with the defence is coming to fruition.
After results at the weekend Aberdeen cannot take anything for granted in the Premiership post-split fixtures.
I thought it would take some sensational results for the Dons to be dragged back into the danger of the relegation play-off spot.
However there was a sensational result on Sunday with Ross County shocking Rangers 3-2 in Dingwall.
I’m sure that result will send chills down the spine of Aberdeen supporters.
Rangers have not been losing goals so for Ross County to put them to the sword by scoring three times is quite incredible.
It is a result that shocked everyone in Scottish football.
And I’m sure it will have shocked the squad at Pittodrie as it is a statement of intent from Ross County.
It is a wake-up call to Aberdeen to make sure they are not dragged into relegation trouble by winning games before the end of the season.
Until the Premiership post-split games the Dons must first bid to reach the Scottish Cup final.
Dons must announce Thelin soon
There is a certain amount of urgency to get Aberdeen’s new permanent manager confirmed.
It would be a very positive step for Aberdeen to confirm the new boss and when he will arrive at Pittodrie.
All the indications are it will be Elfsborg manager Jimmy Thelin but there has been no definitive statement from the club yet.
It would be good for the club to deliver clarity.
Surely negotiations have got to the stage where they can confirm something.
Then everyone will know the club has a new manager that has a very good track record.
And that he is someone that can excite Aberdeen supporters and ignite hope for the new season.
I believe it is key for the Pittodrie board to persuade Thelin to commit himself to the club to a point where they can come out and make a statement.
It is now more than two months since Barry Robson was sacked as manager at the end of January.
Now it is time to deliver some clarity about who will be managing Aberdeen next season.
Conversation