Boss Jimmy Thelin is confident he can fix Aberdeen’s defensive frailty as the race to finish third in the Premiership hots up.
The Dons board splashed out more than £1million in the January transfer window to bankroll a defensive rebuild.
However, the Reds have conceded seven goals in the last two league matches, with a 2-2 draw against Dundee United following a 5-1 defeat at Celtic.
Centre-back Kristers Tobers was signed for £600,000 from Swiss club Grasshoppers and full-back Alexander Jensen arrived in a £545,000 deal from Sweden’s Brommapojkarna.
Thelin also signed Mats Knoester on a permanent deal following the centre-back’s exit from Hungarian club Ferencvaros.
All three started in the 2-2 Premiership draw with United at Pittodrie on Sunday.
Aberdeen were 2-0 down at half-time after conceding two goals from corners.
Aberdeen leaking ‘soft goals’
Thelin accepts Aberdeen are leaking too many “soft goals” – but is confident of finding a solution.
He will demand the Dons are more compact when defending in their box to boost the bid to finish third and secure a Europa League second qualifying round spot.
He said: “When Dundee United scored their goals, it was too easy for them.
“We talked about that at half-time, how, although some parts of our performance was good, yet again there were soft goals against us.
“I know myself, my staff and the players have to do better for the rest of the season.
“So that we don’t get into these situations again.
“We were not compact enough in the first half and had too few players in the box.
“Teams have to (be made to) put in more effort in these situations to get goals against us.”
Aberdeen have secured only five clean sheets in 29 Premiership games this season.
Players exit in defensive overhaul
The club currently bottom of the Premiership, St Johnstone, have also registered just five shut-outs in 29 Premiership fixtures.
As part of a defensive overhaul in the January transfer window, Thelin also secured centre-back Alfie Dorrington on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
Montenegro international centre-back Slobodan Rubezic was sent on loan to Serbian side FK Novi Pazar until the end of the season.
Rubezic was signed by Dons from Novi Pazar for an undisclosed fee in summer 2023.
The 24-year-old has started all four of Novi Pazar’s games in the Serbian top-flight since returning to the club on loan.
New Zealand international left-back James McGarry was also sent on loan to Greek top-flight side Kallithea until the end of the season.
However, McGarry has been ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a knee injury in a loss to Panetolikos.
Thelin confident he will fix defensive frailty
With the race for third so tight, Thelin must quickly find a solution to solve Aberdeen’s “soft goals” conundrum.
Thelin’s Reds currently sit fourth in the Premiership table, one point behind third-placed Hibs. with only nine league matches remaining.
He said: “Also against Celtic, we needed to find some defensive breaking points and do better.
“It has to be more difficult against us in these defensive situations in the last part of the season.
“I’m always an optimistic person and have a strong belief in our capacity.
“I’m sure we’re going to fix this.”
Thelin must immediately find a solution to that defensive frailty, particularly at set-pieces, ahead of the Scottish Cup clash with Queen’s Park.
The Dons host the Championship outfit at Pittodrie in the quarter-final on Saturday.
The cup threat of Queen’s Park
Queen’s Park have already shown their ability to shock by knocking out Rangers in the previous round with a 1-0 win at Ibrox.
They also pushed the Dons hard in the League Cup last-16 in August.
It took a goal in time added on from Topi Keskinen to secure a 1-0 win at Pittodrie over the second-tier outfit.
Thelin said: “It is an important game and exciting to play at home in front of our supporters.
“We aim to make some improvements in the week and be even stronger.”
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