Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has defended his forwards after a recent goal drought by insisting the whole team must take responsibility.
The Dons showed how ruthless they can be by scoring four goals in one half against Caley Thistle in December but since then they have netted only five times in six matches following Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat by the Inverness side.
The team’s first-choice forward Scott Vernon has played his part in helping the Dons move up to second place in the Scottish Premiership with some impressive displays but the Englishman has scored one goal in his last 14 appearances.
McInnes said: “You analyse everything when you lose. You look at what you did and your team selection.
“It would be wrong to suggest it was just down to the front players.
“As a team, we win together and we lose together. Against Caley Thistle I didn’t feel we did enough to get ourselves into good areas of the pitch.”
The Dons have been linked with several forwards during the January transfer window, including Blackburn Rovers attacker David Goodwillie and Oldham Athletic’s Adam Rooney but McInnes accepts there is no guarantee that there will be a new forward at Pittodrie before the deadline closes at the end of the month. He said: “We have all got parameters to work within and there are restraints in terms of what we can do.
“If we can’t do anything then we will work with these boys to get that improvement. With two weeks of the window left, we have a lot of big challenges ahead and we will try to be as fully equipped as possible, regardless of whether we get players in or not.”
The Dons will attempt to get back to winning ways on Saturday at Fir Park against third-placed Motherwell, who remain a point behind the Dons after a 3-0 defeat by Celtic at the weekend.
McInnes added: “It is a chance to bounce back quickly. These boys have always responded to defeats in the right way. They have been fantastic for me this season.
“The consistency they have shown and the two or three good runs we have had this season have been down to a lot of hard work, good play and perseverance.”