Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson admitted he and his team came away from Dundee with zero credit after a 2-0 defeat at Dens Park.
The Dons slumped to their first loss of the season in front of 4,500 away fans. Robinson took full responsibility and expects a big reaction when Dundee visit Pittodrie in the Premier Sports Cup next weekend.
Robinson: 'Nobody has come out with any kind of credit'
Robinson said: “There is nobody in there kidding themselves on. Nobody has come out with any kind of credit. Mainly myself, I have come out with zero credit.”
He added: “We have to pick ourselves up. It is one performance, one game and it was a poor performance. We have to accept that and get ourselves going again.”
“We had 4500 fans down here and we have had a dent in the road, a bump in the road. We won’t get too down about it, the same way we didn’t get too carried away last week (after winning against Hearts).”
'We didn't do the basics right'
Robinson acknowledged his team failed to do the basics. He stated: “An incredibly disappointing performance. I didn't recognise the team. We didn't do what we do. We didn't outfight them, we didn't outrun them, we didn't out battle them - they did the opposite to us and their front four set the press and then we couldn't cope with it.”
“People went into their shell a little bit. You need to win second balls, you need to win battles. We didn't do that in the middle of the park at all. We didn't do it all over the pitch. There's a lot that has to be better. We didn't do the basics right and it's not like us. Very unlike us.”
He added: “I thought they ran all over us physically. The two boys in midfield found it hard. It was always my concern with Brad Lyons and Connor Ronan out that we lose physicality. We did. Collectively, as a team, we weren’t at the races.”
“We made a lot of bad decisions in and out of possession. When you play for Aberdeen you can’t do that. You need to reset yourself after one mistake and go again. We didn’t do that enough today and got what we deserved.”
Tony Yogane subbed at half-time
It was an unhappy return to Dundee for Tony Yogane, who was subbed at half-time. His manager stated: “Of course, Tony will play better than today. As a team, my team, as a collective, we didn’t perform. We can’t individualise. As a collective, we weren’t good enough and got what we deserve.”
New signing Mitchy Ntelo
Robinson is hoping new signing Mitchy Ntelo will give his side more of a cutting edge. The 25-year-old attacker has been signed from Yverdon-Sport for an undisclosed fee, on a two-year deal with a club option of another 12 months.
Robinson insisted: “We hope he will get international clearance (for the Dundee game). He adds pace and strength to the forward line. He can play anywhere across the front line. He will add some physicality and goals that we require.”
