Aberdeen must rediscover positive performance in big Dundee Premier Sports Cup tie – extra pressure from Pittodrie stands won’t help

Stephen Robinson continues his personal defence of the Premier Sports Cup this afternoon, but if he is to clinch an historic double later in the season, his Aberdeen team are going to have to play significantly better than last week.

The Dons have an immediate chance for revenge against Dundee, having been utterly outplayed by the Dens Park side in the Premiership seven days ago.

Steven Pressley will fancy his chances of emulating that performance and result; they will travel north absolutely bursting with confidence.

Robinson was brutally honest in his post-match interviews – Aberdeen were second-best in every department. It was a game which will have told him plenty about his squad, and highlighted areas where improvement is needed.

Unfortunately, going by last weekend, that is right across the pitch.

The defence looked disorganised at times with Dundee, all too often, finding acres of space and cutting through the backline with ease; the midfield never gained a strong foothold in the match.

The forward line caused few problems for the home rearguard.

That is obviously not a good combination, and I have no doubt the coaching staff will have been working hard with all the players in recent days.

What they have to ensure is Dens Park was a one-off – that the boys can quickly rediscover the qualities which brought five straight wins to kick-off the campaign, and that the Dons can take another step towards a return to the national stadium.

Winning the League Cup back in 2014, early in his reign, was a major step forward for Derek McInnes, and if Stephen can do the same, it will provide him, and the club, with real momentum.

Even going deep into the tournament would be a positive, which makes this afternoon a vital encounter, particularly given the run of fixtures which lies ahead.

With Motherwell, Rangers and Celtic all to come, Aberdeen will want to approach that demanding period with spirits high; beating Dundee would help in that, as well as securing a quarter-final berth in this competition.

The manager’s team selection will be very interesting indeed.

The significance of this one suggests to me he will field as close as he can to what he believes is his strongest starting line-up – this most certainly is not a time for any kind of experimentation.

His big problem is that I am not sure he has seen enough yet to make that determination, and even this early in the season, Stephen has some big decisions ahead of him. He has to judge which of the players he feels he can most trust, and give them the opportunity to prove that.

It is easy for us, as fans, to get carried away, and last week was certainly hugely deflating, but I do like the overall balance of the group he has assembled, and they will need time to settle in fully.

It is important they are given it, and that we show faith while they do so. The last thing the players need is increased pressure from the stands, as that does no-one any good.

Ure looking at Scotland’s next striker

One of the most eye-catching transfers of the summer window was confirmed earlier this week when Sevilla completed the signing of Scottish striker, Robbie Ure.

His name will not be all that familiar to most fans, but he has made a real impact in the past 12 months, and now has the opportunity to shine in one of the major European leagues – Spain’s La Liga

Having started at Rangers, where he barely got a sniff, and after a brief spell in Belgium, Robbie joined IK Sirius in Sweden, and has excelled there, contributing 31 goals and seven assists in just fifty appearances.

If he can even come close to emulating that in Spain, I would hope the new national team manager – whoever that is – will be quick to call him up.

Robbie is also eligible to play for Ukraine, but told BBC Scotland last month his heart lies with the country of his birth.

It would be criminal for us to miss out on him.

[Source: Press and Journal]