Skipper Graeme Shinnie was a frustrated figure after the Dons fell to a 3-1 defeat at home to Hibernian, pointing to self-inflicted wounds as the cause for it.

“I felt like it was a game where we beat ourselves. We started the game well, got in front, we’re looking to build on that and then we concede a goal, which happens. But after that it’s important to continue to try and do the things that we had been doing. I felt we didn’t, and that was the problem.

“We lost our way, we weren’t doing what we’re good at and that plays into the opposition’s hands. When you defend the way we defended today, it’s hard to win football games. There were good moments, but the bad moments outweighed them and when it’s that way, it’s hard to win.

“Yes, if Topi’s shot off the post goes in, at 2-1 up it’s a different game, but that’s football, that’s what happens. That shouldn’t mean that we go on to lose 3-1. If it doesn’t go in, you keep going and you go again and you go again and you go again until you score. We didn’t do that, we looked a bit soft, a bit vulnerable after they scored and that can’t be us, that’s not what we want to be. We want to be the team we were in the first 20 minutes, on the front foot, putting pressure on them. That’s what we need to be going forward.

“There was some sloppy play, some errors and it gives them encouragement in the game, so we need to eradicate that. We did start really well, but you need to do that for 90 minutes because you don’t win games in 20 minutes.

“Individual errors happen in games, in every game you’ll see them. As a team, it’s about how you help your mate out. The third one, we lose the ball in the middle of the pitch, but one pass and they’re in on goal. That sort of thing, if you do give the ball away, we have to be in a shape where it can’t just be one pass and they’re in on goal.

“It can’t be that easy to score against us, even though we want to be that team with the ball, we want to pass the ball and have the bravery to do it. At times you will give the ball away, but the shape of the team, then how do we counter-press that and stop the attack? It’s things we need to look at as a team and we will do that and build up to the next game.

“We have to show character in the next game, at Kilmarnock. You know what you’re going to get from them, they’re hard-working, they’ll put up a good fight, we know what we’re up against, but after today, we want to put things right, so we recover now, work hard during the week in preparation.”