Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes admits this is the toughest spell of his tenure, but insists he is shutting out speculation on his future.
The Dons drew 0-0 with St Mirren at a windy Pittodrie this afternoon – the fifth consecutive game where they have failed to score.
As a result, they are now four points behind third-placed Hibs and have now played the same number of Premiership matches as their Edinburgh rivals.
On Monday, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack released a statement saying the board was still behind McInnes, despite this run, growing fan discontent and rumours over his future.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound in the wake of today’s stalemate with the Buddies, McInnes said he was not thinking about the “noise”: “I’m absolutely fine – I just want my team to win.
“I’m frustrated we’ve put ourselves in this position and it’s important we try and get ourselves out of it by getting more wins between now and the end of the season.
“People at the BBC knew more than I did. It was just a case of knuckling down and doing my job.
“I’ve been a manager long enough. If you win games, the noise moves elsewhere, so it’s important we just win games of football.
“The board came out with their statement, gearing towards the end of the season and winning as many games as possible.
“I thought that was pretty clear to be honest and tried to stop the speculation.
“All we can do is work hard, like we did today, stick together.
“When you go through tough spells as a manager, and as a club, we’ve always stuck together to get through it.
“As frustrated as we are, it’s important we do all we can to change the narrative and change the direction of the season, to try and make sure we finish third and get that European spot as well.”
Asked if he had a message for the Aberdeen support after just two wins in 11 games, McInnes said: “I’ll just keep working the way I’ve always done, nothing changes from my point of view.”
Discussing this afternoon’s game, McInnes refused to criticise his players, pointing to the blustery conditions.
The Dons gaffer, who was finally able to give a debut to deadline day signing Florian Kamberi after the striker’s work permit was confirmed yesterday, playing him upfront with fellow loanee Fraser Hornby, said: “It was the type of game where, although we anticipated the wind would be blowing as much as it was all week, we go with a positive line-up – two strikers, two wide players and two attacking full-backs.
“The intent was to get playing in their half of the pitch and the conditions made it difficult for both sets of players to get any flow, rhythm to the game and knit it together.
“The best players on the pitch were defenders and midfielders, not in terms of quality, but in terms of keeping concentration.
“Sometimes with that type of game it’s a mistake that wins it.
“It’s tough that and there’s no enjoyment for the players. The pitch was dry and bobbly, the wind blowing a hoolie.
“We take a point. We wanted three and know how important that is at this stage of the season, but to find the bit of quality we need at the top of the pitch, we need to keep playing the boys we’ve brought in.
“They’re clearly a bit short of match fitness and sharpness, the only way they get that is by playing the games.
“Games like today, with the weather, isn’t the day to be judging people’s performances. I have no criticism of my players, their effort was outstanding.”