Graeme Shinnie says Aberdeen’s players must stand up to the task of turning around the team’s season in the coming weeks.
The Dons went down 4-0 to Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday, after falling behind just two minutes into the game.
Aberdeen are seventh in the Premiership table, three points behind this weekend’s opponents Livingston, who also have a game in hand.
Interim manager Barry Robson will remain in charge for the visit of the Lions, as he attempts to get the Reds back to winning ways.
Despite recording a 3-1 win over Motherwell in their previous game, Robson said the defeat against the Hoops highlighted the fragility that still remains within the Dons squad.
A dire run of form in January culminated in the departure of previous boss Jim Goodwin, and Reds skipper Shinnie says the players must stand up to the job ahead.
Shinnie said: “We always have to take responsibility. A manager has lost a job based on the players on the pitch not doing the right jobs.
“We are at Aberdeen for a reason and you need to stand up and be counted.
“You can’t go into your shell. It’s been a tough period, but you need to play through it and the only way to get out of it is by winning games.
“Of course it was going to be tough against Celtic, but we have games coming up where we need to bounce back and try to get a run of form going.
“You need to have the confidence in every game to go out and play well.
“This is one of those where you have to deal with it, analyse it and then prepare for a big game against Livingston.”
Shinnie impressed by Robson’s impact
Shinnie was brought back to Pittodrie for a second spell in January, on a loan deal from Wigan Athletic.
The former Caley Thistle player previously spent four years with his hometown club between 2015 and 2019, serving as captain for the final two years.
Having both played alongside and worked under Robson when he was part of the coaching setup, Shinnie believes the 44-year-old is imparting his personality on the Dons side.
He added: “He’s putting his own style onto it and trying to do it his way.
“He’s obviously got the passion for it and I think he has been very good.
“It is naturally tough to go to Celtic and be 2-0 down after 13 minutes, but we’ll prepare next week.
“Barry will have a week to prepare us for the Livingston game and that’s one we need to bounce back in.”
Celtic’s goals a frustration for skipper
Aberdeen endured a tough afternoon in Glasgow’s east end, against a rampant Hoops side which is nine points clear at the top of the Premiership.
Despite the quality the Dons were up against, midfielder Shinnie was frustrated with the manner of some of the goals his side conceded.
The 31-year-old added: “It’s little lapses in concentration. There was too much time and space in the box for Hatate to get a shot off as easy as he did. That’s not anything to do with intensity. That’s just not being close enough to a man.
“It didn’t feel as if you couldn’t catch a breath, it didn’t feel manic. It just felt frustrating to have conceded the goals that we did.
“Celtic started off well. We were getting overloaded in the wide areas by their full backs. We made a change to try and nullify that.
“I thought that was an advantage to them at the start and they took control of it. They have good rotations, play very good football, it’s tough, but we have to move on.”
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