No whispering or pointing of fingers after debacle, insists Mckenna
● Dons defender says questions must be answered as a group after rout by Celtic
The need for soul searching at Aberdeen this week will bring a few dark nights. What Scott Mckenna maintains must be avoided are any days of a bitching blame game among the squad.
So supine and inept was their display in the 4-0 swatting aside by Celtic on their own patch on Sunday, the Pittodrie centre-back can be assured no player could have any justification for pointing fingers in any whispering campaign… unless they turn a crooked digit back on themselves.
None of them can expect to escape the wrath of an Aberdeen support. They have Derek Mcinnes, pictured, in their sights after Sunday’s debacle made for a second abject capitulation to one of the country’s big two in the past month in following on from a 5-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox. Not since the embarrassment-strewn era of Ebbe Skovdahl two decades ago have Aberdeen proved such sport for the two Glasgow clubs. No wonder Mckenna maintains the truth telling among the squad must be frank and up front.
“You need to [have a players’ meeting]. There is no point talking about each other behind everyone’s backs,” he said. “It needs to be constructive because we are all aware it wasn’t good enough. We need to find the answers as to why we weren’t good enough, aggressive enough and not pressing, and why were we sitting too deep? They are all things we need to answer as a group.”
The meeting could last for several days if they list everything that went wrong against a Celtic side that sizzled in storming to a 4-0 half-time lead with a domination more belonging to a top-flight side facing a fourth-tier opponent in a cup tie.
None of this is lost on Mckenna. “We were miles off it and nowhere near good enough and let Celtic do what they wanted,” he said. “Every goal was easy. We were far too passive and not strong enough in the tackle. We have nobody to blame but ourselves – we can’t blame anyone else apart from ourselves. When you are in the team as a defender, you need to put your foot in and make tackles when you are called upon and we didn’t do that. None of us was aggressive enough or sharp enough and Celtic ran over the top of us. [James] Forrest, [Callum] Mcgregor and [Odsonne] Edouard all enjoyed the game far too much.”
All of which contributed to 45 minutes of senior football that the 22-year-old acknowledged was the “worst” of his career. “I don’t think I have been four down at half-time in a game before. We had nothing about us, no character or leadership on the pitch. It was disappointing.”
Mckenna is supposed to be a dominating centre-half who offers up these qualities. He is honest enough to accept he was as culpable as anyone, but in his defence he was playing only his third match following two months sidelined with a hamstring problem.
“I think there are leaders but nobody showed it on Sunday,” he said. “It is all well and good when you are two or three up and playing good football but you need to show it on games like Sunday, where you need proper leaders to step up and take control, but that didn’t happen. I would like to think I was one of them but I was nowhere near it on Sunday either. I was at fault for a couple of the goals so I can’t sit and criticise anyone else.”
Mckenna isn’t interested in the get-out that his leadership skills are such that he was made Scotland captain against Mexico last June. “It is all well and good saying that but that is in the past,” he said. “I can only reflect on my own performance and make sure that doesn’t happen again going forward.”
Looking ahead to the trip to Hamilton Accies tomorrow and beyond, Mckenna believesthereisonlyoneremedy for the current ills. “We have three games before the international break and the only way we can recover this is to take nine points from nine,” he said,recognisingthat expressing remorse to the club’s support is necessary but likely to fall on deaf ears. “We can only apologise, whether they want to listen or not.”
“I don’t think I have been four down at halftime in a game before. We had nothing about us, no character or leadership on the pitch. It was disappointing”
SCOTT MCKENNA