Aberdeen are not out of the mire – but Saturday’s 2-1 win over Ross County gives the Dons breathing space with a six-point advantage over the Staggies.
The Reds are ninth in the Premiership, but have crucially also built up a five-point advantage over St Johnstone and are level on points with Motherwell ahead of this weekend’s trip to Livingston.
It was a fantastic crowd of more than 17,ooo at Pittodrie, which shows that the fans are still right behind the Dons, who need them at the moment.
Aberdeen have Livi away then Dundee at home before the league split, so it is important they are in a good position because the sides below them will take points from one another.
Hopefully they can get a new manager in, get settled and look forward to a summer of rebuilding.
I don’t just mean rebuilding the team. The club needs rebuilt.
As much as I love the club, some of the decisions that have been made have been shocking.
It needs stability and the board need to get decisions right going into the summer.
Caretaker manager Peter Leven has guided the side to two massive wins over Motherwell and Ross County.
Saturday’s opponents Livingston, who are 10 points below Ross County at the bottom of the division, are most probably going down, despite their manager David Martindale saying they’ll keep fighting. They have too much to do.
Match-winner Jamie McGrath is right when he says it’s not job done yet for Aberdeen.
A couple of defeats along with a couple of Ross County wins and they are back into it. However, it’s a healthy six-point cushion.
New boss MUST know Scottish game
In terms of recruiting a new manager, Aberdeen maybe thought Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill would come, but if that was the case, I am guessing compensation might have put him out of reach.
The IFA (Irish Football Association) have been stung before when he went to Stoke City, so they would likely have raised the bar pretty high and Aberdeen might have been frightened off.
We’re not privy to what happened, but my reading of the situation is he was their number one man and the move has collapsed.
They need to go to plan B – maybe another name will come out that no one has thought of.
They might well aim to recruit from overseas and are looking at the whole structure of the club.
For me, there was not much wrong with the structure when Derek McInnes was in charge – the problem is they are picking the wrong manager.
Once they have a manager, he should be focused only on that first-team squad. That’s how the club survives, by the team’s results.
They have good men in charge of the youth, such as Neil Simpson, so they need someone to come in who knows Scottish football really well.
Neil Lennon is interested, but by all accounts he’s not in the equation.
My worry is they bring a manager in from abroad and fans all of a sudden expect us to play a new, flowing, continental style.
In football management, you need results straight away. He won’t get a honeymoon period. The new man needs to hit the ground running. The best way to do that is recruit someone who knows Scottish football.
Ross County have hope ahead of Kilmarnock test
After losing at Aberdeen, Ross County are five points behind St Johnstone, with games at Kilmarnock then at home to Rangers before the split.
The Dingwall side played well on Saturday and they have hope and plenty to build on as they set out to avoid 11th place.
I was there last June when they needed penalties to somehow beat Partick Thistle in the play-off final – they won’t want to go through that again.
They will chase down St Johnstone first and foremost, and even if they get to within touching distance of them with a match or two to go, then it could be exciting and they will have a chance of escaping without a play-off.
They have Yan Dhanda back in the team and Simon Murray, who scored on Saturday, is flying high and looking dangerous. If they can get the service to him, they will stand a chance.
Caley Thistle are in big trouble in Championship
After losing 1-0 at Partick Thistle on Saturday, second-bottom Caley Thistle are in big trouble in the Championship.🗣️ Manager Duncan Ferguson gives his thoughts following today's 1-0 defeat against Partick Thistle at Firhill Stadiumhttps://t.co/vQgmw4LD4a
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) March 30, 2024
They are now four points below Queen’s Park with five games to go, starting at home to Arbroath this weekend.
Jim McIntyre’s team are bottom and most likely to finish there – although they did win in Inverness in December.
Caley Thistle have not won a league game at home since November and they need to win this one. Without a victory this weekend, the four final games will fly away.
I might be jumping the gun, but I see they could face Hamilton in the play-off final (with Alloa, Cove and Montrose all in the running), so it’s going to be difficult if that’s how it ends.
Duncan Ferguson is appealing Cammy Kerr’s yellow card (for simulation) ahead of the Dundee player being sent off for a second booking in the second half at Partick.
Trust me, when it comes to appeals, not everyone sees decisions the same way as the manager.
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