Devlin tells Dons squad to prove they have the stomach for a dogfight
Nicky Devlin warned his Aberdeen colleagues they need to quickly steel themselves for the rigours of a relegation dogfight in order to fend off the calamitous prospect of dropping to the cinch Championship.
The Dons finished third in the Premiership last term but now find themselves without a manager and in grave danger of ending up in the bottom two after failing to win any of their 11 league matches since the winter break.
They sit in tenth place, just three points ahead of Ross County who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, and Devlin conceded they must now accept that their main goal in the weeks and months ahead is to stave off the threat of the drop.
"Teams that are down the bottom that are used to being down the bottom, this is when they come alive and their seasons kick into gear," said the former Livingston defender.
"We have to match that and then rise above it and make sure we pick up enough points to get away from the position we're in.
"It won't be easy because all the games we've got before the split are against teams who are fighting for something.
"We're playing teams that are round about us so we know how important these games are because if we can manage to win, it obviously stops another team picking up three points as well."
Caretaker boss Peter Leven revealed the squad had held a meeting after Wednesday's dismal 1-0 defeat at Dundee and shared "some home truths" as they bid to spark an upturn in form.
Following the departure of two managers - Barry Robson and Neil Warnock - this term, the character of the Dons players has been called into question.
Devlin admits the only way they can disprove the accusations heading their way is to step up and lead the club away from danger.
"A lot of the boys have probably not been in a relegation battle before, especially at a club like this," said the defender.
"The only way you can show you've got the character for it is to go out and show it.
"The character has been questioned for obvious reasons, we've not won enough games, so there can be no complaints from the boys on that front. It's down to us as players to go and show it."
Two wins in succession, including a rare victory at Ibrox, have left Motherwell four points off sixth spot with four games left until the split. Three of those games are at Fir Park and Motherwell face the two teams directly above them, Dundee and Hibs.
Defender Bevis Mugabi has his eyes on the top six ahead of today's clash with the Dons. “We are definitely looking up," he said. The table is very, very tight and anything can happen in the next few games and it’s very, very open. We just have to focus on ourselves.
“I’m not looking down, to be honest, I am looking up, always.
“It’s good we have a few good results in the bag in the last couple of weeks, so that’s put us in a good place.
“It’s a big motivation to reach the top six and it’s still very, very possible. Anything can happen.”