Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin insists his side must learn how to handle adversity.
The Dons boss was frustrated at watching his side lose their composure and momentum in their 3-1 defeat by Hibernian at Pittodrie on Saturday.
Having taken a deserved lead through Topi Keskinen’s strike, a defensive mistake gifted Hibs an equaliser.
From there, the Dons failed to recover as an error-strewn display was punished by the visitors.
Thelin knows his players have to do better when things are not going their way.
The Dons boss said: “An opponent can score a goal, but we need to be much better in how we react after these situations.
“We need to be stronger as a team, trust what we are doing and don’t lose the concept so quickly.
“Sometimes mistakes can happen, but we need to protect and cover each other better because Hibernian hurt us really bad when something happened.
“I look at how we reacted for a while where we gave away the momentum too easily to the opponent. Our standards should be higher than this.
“It can’t be so easy. We were playing good before that, and the reaction can’t be so big if something happens inside a team.
“We must just keep going again and try to win the game.”
Thelin wants less emotion from Aberdeen
Dons captain Graeme Shinnie labelled his side as vulnerable and soft after their unexpected collapse.
The defeat makes it six games without a win for the Dons – the worst run of any side in the Premiership at the moment – and Thelin’s team have dropped to third behind Rangers following their latest loss.
Thelin believed his side were too emotional following the dramatic 3-3 draw at Easter Road when they faced Hibernian last month, and again found himself questioning whether passion and sentiment was a factor at Pittodrie on Saturday.
He said: “We have a good start and that’s what we have to keep working on.
“It is important we trust more in what we are doing and what we are good at – don’t start doing other things.
“We have to stay together and do the basic principles in our game and try to be more determined, instead of so emotional. That’s up to me and my staff to help the players and keep working with that and try to do it better the next game.”
Dons boss will go back to the training ground drawing board
The transfer window opens on January 1, but with two trips this week to Kilmarnock on Boxing Day and Dundee United on Sunday, the Dons boss is keeping his focus on the pressing need of improving his side’s current form.
Thelin is adamant the training ground is where solutions will be found.
He said: “I don’t think we should focus on the transfer window, because it’s our performance right now that matters.
“We are not thinking about an easy solution from someone else – we have to do the things right here.
“There is no easy way out. It’s time to go out and keep working. It’s the only thing we can do, but we have to take a step now.
“We need consistency in our games. The opponent can have momentum, but it shouldn’t hurt us so much as it does right now.
“That’s the thing we have to keep working on. The only way is to go out on the training pitch, keep learning, keep improving, keep growing as a team and it will soon be another game.”
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