Keeper Dimitar Mitov issues brutally honest assessment of Aberdeen’s form crash… but remains upbeat it will turn
Tough-talking keeper Dimitar Mitov says words are cheap and struggling Aberdeen must begin to do their talking on the pitch, starting against Kilmarnock in the Premiership.
Keeper Dimitar Mitov insists words are cheap and Aberdeen must do their talking on the pitch to resurrect the season.
Struggling Aberdeen are languishing second-bottom of the Premiership and rock bottom of the Uefa Conference league.
Straight-talking Bulgarian international Mitov knows it is unacceptable.
The Dons failed to respond to a club-record European loss.
Days after being hammered 6-0 by AEK Athens in Greece last week, the Reds, expensively rebuilt during the summer, crashed to sixth loss in nine Premiership games when going down 2-1 to Hibs.
Mitov accepts repeated promises from players Aberdeen will turn around the season are becoming increasingly hollow as they fail to deliver.
Mitov says ‘there has been enough talk’
The 28-year-old has picked the ball out of his net eight times in the last week and warns the Dons must quickly improve in every department.
As the pressure mounts to salvage the season, the keeper realises the time for talk is over… and it is time for action, starting at Kilmarnock on Wednesday.
Mitov said: “There has been enough talk and saying this needs to be better.
“Ultimately we are not doing that at the moment.
“It is down to us players to all take on responsibility to change that.
“We have to do everything to achieve that because the demands and expectations of playing for this club are much, much higher than we are showing at the moment.
“As players, everything needs to be better, from defending in the box to attacking in the box.
“There is no 50-50 here – it needs to be spot on everywhere for us to be better.
“At the moment, we are falling short and not winning our duels and not being good enough on the ball. So many things.
“We need to start performing on the pitch.”
Many Aberdeen supporters made their frustration clear at full-time by booing the Dons after the loss to Hibs.
Keeper calls for mental strength
US-based chairman Dave Cormack was at Pittodrie to witness the Hibs loss as he finalised the appointment of Lutz Pfannenstiel as the club’s new sporting director.
Aberdeen now face a tricky journey to Kilmarnock on Wednesday – with the previous visit to Rugby Park a 4-0 loss in December last year.
The Dons may be down, but Mitov insists they are far from out, and is confident manager Jimmy Thelin will orchestrate a form revival.
He said: “We understand the fans’ frustration and rightly so because they do not expect to see this.
“This football club should not be where we are at the moment.
“And us as players are responsible for it.
“I always say in football you have more negative than positive moments. You have to be really mentally strong to come over that.
“When that wheel spins and you come out the other side things will just become better and better.
“But at the moment we are the other side and we have to keep grinding, sacrificing and performing – keep giving everything.
“With the team we have, it will eventually turn.
“We play for this football club and there is always going to be pressure.
“However I am very confident in our group of players because we have high quality players in the team.
“I am sure when everything clicks it will be great.”
Kilmarnock have won the last four games at Rugby Park against Aberdeen.
That is as much as they won in their previous 24 matches, which included 15 losses and five draws.
Performance to make fans proud
For Mitov, the short time frame between the loss to Hibs and the trip to Kilmarnock is ideal as it offers an immediate opportunity for redemption.
The keeper is determined Aberdeen deliver a performance worthy of the club and the supporters.
He said: “For me there is nothing better than having another game on Wednesday. It is another opportunity to get things right that went wrong.
“We go into training, see the mistakes we made and make sure we don’t do them again.
“And look at the good things we did, because there were some, but we just missed that finishing touch in the end.
“When all these things are fixed – little problems, they are not big problems – the team will grow.
“We need to put in a performance our supporters should be proud of.
“A performance deserving of Aberdeen football club.
“I’m sure with the quality we have in our team when we put in performances results will follow.
“Eventually it will turn in a positive way.”
[Source: Press and Journal]
