Devlin insists Dons’ injuries no excuse for dismal display

MIKEY DEVLIN has slammed Aberdeen’s timid capitulation at Ibrox and admitted they could have suffered an even greater thrashing. Saturday’s 5-0 hammering is the biggest defeat the club has suffered since Derek McInnes (below) took charge six-and-a-half years ago. While some fans have turned their anger on the manager, Devlin insists the players must carry the can for a no-show in Govan. Aberdeen were without eight first-team players through injury and illness, but the centre-back believes that can’t excuse the paucity of their performance. ‘The basics were missing, the appetite to get after them,’ said Devlin. ‘We barely made a tackle, gave them too much space, lost poor goals, goals which were similar. ‘That all comes from not doing the basics right and, against a good Rangers team, you are punished if you let them play. ‘It was 5-0 but it could have been worse and we all need to take a look at ourselves. ‘I’ll start by doing that. I wasn’t good enough and, collectively, it wasn’t good enough, but we have to pick ourselves up for the Hibs game next week. ‘We’ve gone out of the (Betfred) Cup at Hearts after extra-time and now we’ve lost another big game when we were miles off it. ‘There are 11 players on the pitch who have to take responsibility for that. The manager set us out, gave us tasks. ‘He asks us to do the basics and represent the shirt of this club and we didn’t do that. This has nothing to do with the manager. ‘It’s the players who have to take responsibility for what they gave out there.’ Aberdeen recorded three wins over Rangers in Glasgow last season, knocking Gerrard’s side out of both cup competitions and claiming a league victory in December. Another success never looked possible from the moment James Tavernier gave the home team a 20th-minute lead. Second-best all over the pitch, Aberdeen made this a gruesome day for the travelling support occupying one corner of the ground. Andrew Considine was added to a lengthy casualty list when he went down with a sickness bug on the morning of the match, but Devlin argues those selected were still capable of far better. ‘It’s not ideal that we’re missing key players,’ he said. ‘Losing Andy, who has been such a crucial player this season, was a blow but there were still players here who I thought could cause an upset. ‘There were enough players out there who were here last year. ‘The most disappointing thing is the way we lost the game. You can lose to a good side but, as an Aberdeen player in an Aberdeen team, there is far more demanded of you and it was miles away from what is expected by the manager or the supporters.’ Devlin also doesn’t seek mitigation from any potential hangover in the wake of a penalty shoot-out defeat by Hearts that ended hope of a return to Hampden. ‘I don’t want to make excuses,’ he said. ‘The disappointment of losing is always something that takes a bit of time to get over but, ultimately, we are professionals and we had a couple of days to get over the cup result before this game. ‘Aberdeen against Rangers is a big fixture. You want to give a good account of yourself and the result on Wednesday didn’t come into our thoughts before the game, so we can’t use it as an excuse.’