Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin insists fixing the fragile defence remains his number one priority in the bid to salvage the season.
The Dons’ defensive frailty was ruthlessly exposed by St Mirren in a 3-0 loss that extended a damaging winless Premiership collapse to 13 games.
Aberdeen’s leaky defence has secured only four clean sheets in 24 Premiership matches this season.
Thelin has already splashed out more than £1million in the January transfer window in a bid to solve his defensive problem.
Centre-back Kristers Tobers was signed in a £600,000 transfer from Swiss club Grasshoppers.
Latvia international captain Tobers penned a three-and-a-half year contract.
Versatile full-back Alexander Jensen was snapped up in a £545,000 transfer from Swedish top flight club Brommapojkarna on a four-year deal.
Teenage centre-back Alfie Dorrington, 19, was also secured on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the season.
All three played in the loss to St Mirren, yet the defensive problems continued.
Rubezic substituted off in first-half
Tobers and Jensen started against the Buddies with Dorrington introduced as a substitute for Slobodan Rubezic in the 40th minute.
Rubezic made errors in the build-up to St Mirren’s first two goals and asked to be substituted off soon after going 2-0 down.
Thelin aims to bring further signings in before the January transfer window closes with a goal-scoring striker a priority.
However he insists sorting his defensive headache is top priority, because the Dons will need to score three or four in every game to win if the problems at the back continue.
Thelin said: “We have to stop goals being scored against us, that is the first priority.
“In each of our last two league games we have had three goals against us.
“We would need to score four to win those games.
“So we have to start in the right order and correct those defensive parts first and keep working as a strong unit on the pitch.
“In the game against St Mirren we felt in the first moments that we were there.
“Then we get the goal against us and it also gave the opponent some energy.
“That’s why we have to think about how we can balance the team and how we can help each other better.
“So we can be more stable defensively, and then start creating the chances and scoring goals.”
Thelin will formulate plan with coaching staff to end form collapse
Aberdeen have conceded 26 goals in the 13 game Premiership run without a victory.
The Reds are in the mire of one of the worst runs of league form in the club’s long history.
Thelin’s side have taken just four points from the last possible 39.
The Dons last won in the league on November 9, when overcoming Dundee 4-1.
That win kept Aberdeen level on points with Premiership leaders Celtic after an unbeaten start to the season.
A form nosedive has dropped the Reds to fourth in the Premiership table, which still brings a Uefa Conference League second qualifying round slot.
Thelin says he will hold a post-mortem with his backroom staff into what has gone wrong in the damaging slump – and devise a plan to fix it.
He said: “We are in a really challenging time right now with the results.
“We have some problems that as a manager I have to fix.
“I will sit down with my staff and we need to work on this.
“It is my responsibility also to help the players.”
Aberdeen supporters vented their frustration when booing the struggling Dons at full-time of the loss to St Mirren.
Thelin said: “There are so much emotions with the supporters as they came to watch us play and then had a 3-0.”
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