Ross McCrorie believes Aberdeen have turned the corner after their assured display in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Rangers at Ibrox.
The Dons ended a 10-game run without a win with a 1-0 victory against Hibernian at Pittodrie on Saturday and followed their gritty showing against the Hibees with an impressive performance at the home of the Scottish Premiership champions.
The Dons were 2-0 up after the opening 16 minutes before losing two goals – both of which were contentious in the eyes of the Aberdeen camp – as they had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Despite the frustration at not claiming all three points against his former club McCrorie believes the display was another positive step on the road to recovery for Aberdeen.
He said: “Hopefully we’ve turned a corner. We changed the shape a wee bit and it seemed to suit us. We’ve started to string a few results together and it is up to us to keep it going.
“We’re disappointed to be up 2-0 and then concede a penalty. I didn’t think it was a penalty and, while we’re disappointed to come away with it, a point from Rangers is good for us.
“We’ve been playing well but it has been the small details which have cost us. We’ve always said if we could fix those small details we’d be fine and hopefully we’re doing that.”
McCrorie hopes the battling display was an encouraging sign the Dons are putting their recent run of poor results behind them but the Aberdeen defender insists the players have not been adversely affected by the recent scrutiny of the club during the 10-match run.
He said: “It’s all outside noise, we don’t pay any attention to it. We are in our own bubble in the training ground and we all stick together.
“We have stuck together during a difficult time but now hopefully the tide is turning and we can pick up some more points and move up the table.”
McCrorie hails inspirational captain Brown
Dons captain Scott Brown capped an excellent display in the back three alongside McCrorie and David Bates by scoring the second goal and McCrorie says the former Celtic skipper has made a huge impression since moving to Pittodrie.
He said: “Broony is good in there and in central midfield. He dropped in halfway through the last game and did alright but obviously I’ll have to do all the running for him.
“He’s been brilliant since he came in. He’s been magnificent, he’s a true leader and all the boys look up to him.”
Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis also impressed again, making a terrific save to keep out Connor Goldson’s header, as Aberdeen dug deep to earn a point on what was an emotionally charged occasion following the death of former Gers boss Walter Smith on Tuesday.
McCrorie said: “Joe had another good night. He’s been a tremendous servant to the club and I can only say good things about him.
“It wasn’t awkward coming here. Walter Smith was a great manager and it’s terrible news what’s happened. I didn’t know him personally but my thoughts are with his family and friends.
“But we had a job to do and we’ve done it so we were happy to go back up the road with a point.”