Brad Lyons has challenged his Aberdeen team-mates to come together and prove their critics wrong after the Dons slumped to a 1-0 home defeat to St Johnstone. The midfielder, returning from a knee injury, insists the squad has the quality to turn their season around.
Frustration after dominant display
Aberdeen controlled possession for long spells against Saints but failed to break down the opposition, leaving Lyons frustrated. "It's really, really frustrating when you control a game for so long, have large spells at possession, feel like you're playing the game in their half but we just couldn't break them down," he said.
The Dons had found form before the international break but returned to lose at McDiarmid Park, with top-flight goals proving elusive. Lyons admitted the team needs to show more composure in the final third. "I think sometimes you need a wee bit of luck, the ball just bounces to you in the right position," he stated.
Collective responsibility
Manager Stephen Robinson wants more from his wingers and strikers to ease the goalscoring burden on top scorer Nisbet. Lyons accepted it must be a collective effort. "It's not from the lack of desire or the lack of trying, we see the quality we got on the training pitch, the forward players are top notch," he said.
He added: "I scuffed a volley away in the first half which was a good chance, so I'm not blaming anyone. We need to as a collective show a wee bit more composure, a wee bit more calmness when we get into those good positions."
Home fortress needed
Aberdeen have won just one league game at home, a record Lyons wants to rectify starting against St Mirren this week. "The fans have every right to expect things of us. We're at such a big club and we need to meet their demands," he insisted.
The Northern Irish international added: "We hold ourselves accountable for it. We want to make the place a fortress out there. We want to put in the performances on the pitch, we want to get the results so the fans can back us and make it a real fortress."
Lyons, 29, made his return from a knee injury at the weekend, a positive for Robinson. He praised the club's medical staff: "The staff and the physios were absolutely fantastic with me. I couldn't ask for better support and the amount of work they put me through to get me back up to full match fitness and stuff was great."
