Captain Graeme Shinnie warned Aberdeen must show their mental toughness in a bid to turn around their crash in form – starting in Germany on Thursday.
The Dons are still searching for a first league victory after five Premiership fixtures following a 2-0 loss at Hearts.
Struggling Aberdeen languish second bottom of the table following a return of just two points from a possible 15.
Next up for the Reds is a daunting trip to Eintracht Frankfurt in a UEFA Conference League group-stage opener in Germany on Thursday.
Bundesliga giants Frankfurt won the Europa League in 2022 and are undefeated in seven games this season following a 1-1 draw at VfL Bochum on Saturday.
Shinnie said: “It will be a test both mentally and physically.
“It’s going to be tough but this is what we wanted.
“We worked hard to be in this position (in Europe) and it’s why we have built the squad we have.
“Everyone wants to be involved and everyone needs to be ready.”
The challenge of facing Frankfurt
Aberdeen have one just once in eight matches in all competitions this season, in the League Cup at League One Stirling Albion.
Influential midfielder Shinnie accepts the pressure is on to end the winless streak.
Despite the poor run of form the club captain says the Dons will not travel to the 58,000 capacity Deutsche Bank Park with any trepidation.
He said: “The pressure is never off, especially in these situations.
“Thursday will be tough, we know that, but we want to be in these competitions playing against these teams.
“We are looking forward to it, we’ll need to stick together as a team, defend as a team and help each other out.
“It will be a beautiful stadium, a good crowd and a good team to play against – so it’s the kind of game you want to be involved in.”
‘We have to accept the criticism’
Aberdeen boss Barry Robson overhauled the squad with 13 new signings during a busy summer transfer window.
The new-look Dons have yet to deliver a Premiership win and are level on points, and goal difference, with bottom club St Johnstone.
It is the first time since 1999 Aberdeen have failed to win any of the first five league fixtures.
Many of the 600-strong travelling support at Tynecastle made their frustrations clear at full-time at the side’s failure to deliver a win.
The Dons were booed off the pitch following a third straight defeat.
Shinnie, 32, said: “I can understand their frustration and we fully accept we haven’t been good enough.
“We got a lot of plaudits last season because we did well and everyone enjoyed it.
“But now we are not doing well we have to accept the criticism.
“The fans have backed us tremendously but we haven’t been good enough so far.
“All we can do is start winning games and give them a team to be proud of.”
‘We need to cut out sloppy mistakes’
Eintracht Frankfurt can call upon German international attacking midfielder Mario Gotze, capped 66 times for his country.
Former Bayern Munich star Gotze, 31, scored the winner in Germany’s World Cup final win against Argentina in 2014.
Gotze started in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Bundesliga match at VfL Bochum at the weekend.
Aberdeen have conceded in seven consecutive games and Shinnie accepts that defensive frailty cannot continue in Germany.
He said: “We have been conceding too many goals so we need to be more solid defensively.
“Last season, that’s what we were very good at – at one stage we conceded one in seven or eight games.
“We have to be harder to beat.
“Sometimes it feels like we have been gifting goals and we haven’t been getting them.
“We need to cut out the sloppy mistakes and make ourselves harder to score against.
“When you are that team, with the players we have at the top end of the pitch, you know you’ll win games.
“All we can do is work hard, we have to work together and stick together.”
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