MacKenzie targets big response from Dons after Ayrshire defeat
Defender wants reaction from his team- mates after Killie loss
ABERDEEN defender Jack MacKenzie has demanded a response from his team- mates after the Dons suffered a fourth straight defeat on Wednesday night as they went down 2- 1 to Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock.
Jim Goodwin’s side struggled from the get- go at Rugby Park and found themselves two down at the break thanks to goals from Scott Robinson and Joe Wright. Matty Kennedy provided a consolation goal for the visitors in second- half stoppage time but in truth, the scoreline did not reflect the home side’s dominance.
The defeat meant that Aberdeen slipped to fourth in the table as Hearts moved into third but the men from Pittodrie can reclaim that place today with a win over Ross County at home, coupled with a Hearts defeat in the Edinburgh Derby.
MacKenzie is determined to get the Dons’ push for European football back on track with a victory today and the 22- year- old admits that vast improvement is required if the team are to arrest their poor form and get back to winning ways.
“It was nowhere near good enough,” MacKenzie said of the defeat to Kilmarnock. “We didn’t start the game well enough and we were 2- 0 down at half- time.
“To be honest, we were lucky it wasn’t four. Kilmarnock were by far the better team for the whole 90 minutes. That the final score was 2- 1 probably flattered us.
“We need to do a lot better than we did on Wednesday night. Kilmarnock were unfortunate not to score more than the two that they did.
“We need to be better than individuals. I don’t think any of us got pass marks. We were all miles off it. We need to do better than that because if we play like that against Ross County they will do us over. We need a massive improvement and hopefully a shift of mentality as well.
“We will need a reaction. We know what we need to do. The last four results haven’t been good enough and we are going to start sliding down the table if we don’t turn things around.”
“We had been fortunate to stay third after losing three games on the spin,” he added. “I’m not surprised we have dropped down the table after losing four.”
MacKenzie can, however, take heart from Aberdeen’s showings at home this term. Up until the Old Firm came to town at the tail end of last month, Goodwin’s men boasted a formidable record when playing in front of their own fans. MacKenzie is confident they can recapture that form against Malky Mackay’s struggling County this afternoon.
“We have had a decent record at home this season,” MacKenzie observed. “But there is no reason for us to perform like we did at Rugby Park on Wednesday night.
“That performance could easily happen again if our mentality isn’t right. That needs to be our focus. We need to concentrate on putting in our strongest play and getting the three points.
“I am not sure [ what the key to Aberdeen’s home form has been] because we prepare and set up the same way home and away. I don’t know if it could be that we have all the support from the fans. But we need to be better on the road because the points we have taken on
the road is nowhere near good enough.
“In the Rangers game I thought we played quite well despite the result. So it has just been about keeping that going. We started well against St Mirren and the red card changed it [ Aberdeen went on to lose 3- 1]. But Wednesday night was just miles off it. I think we as players need to step up and try and prove something.”
Meanwhile, Ross County manager Malky Mackay stressed his players know what is needed after slumping to the bottom of the Premiership.
County were overtaken by Dundee United last Wednesday following a 3- 0 defeat at Tannadice.
It was a fourth consecutive loss for Mackay’s men but they won the previous two and there is no panic in Dingwall.
County were in the same position for much of the early months of last season before starting a climb up the table in mid- December which ended with a top- six finish.
Mackay said: “We are not in a
false position, we are where we should be because that’s where the points look at it. But if we hadn’t been creating chances I would be more worried.
“We are actually defending reasonably well and creating chances. Against Rangers we had the best two chances of the game. Against United, Owura [ Edwards] was one on one, it doesn’t get any better than that, and we hit the post and had a goal chalked off.
“We have just to keep having that belief. We have been here before so there are no wild histrionics about being down there. We have been here before and we know the cause we have to pull together for. I feel we are as good as four or five other teams in this division and on any given day we have shown that.”
Aberdeen have also lost four in a row and Dons manager Jim Goodwin is under pressure to deliver three points at Pittodrie.
Mackay said: “It’s another tough one for us but they all are. There’s not a team in this division that I don’t respect highly.
“It’s a really tough league, we knew at the start of the season that it was going to be the toughest Premiership, probably ever.
“We go into it with the greatest respect for Aberdeen but at the same time knowing that, on any given day, we have been as good as anybody in the division, outwith the top couple.”
We need to be better than individuals. I don’t think any of us got pass marks. We were all miles off it