Peter Leven pulled no punches in his reaction to Aberdeen’s comprehensive Scottish Cup defeat at East End Park.

“We started okay, we had a chance with Stuart Armstrong, but after that, I can’t defend the players any more, that was unacceptable. I can only apologise to the fans for what they’ve seen.

“We had so many experienced players on there, but we never won the battle. First balls, second balls, a lack of fight, a lack of confidence, it’s really poor. We’re the holders, and we’ve limped out the Scottish Cup, that’s unacceptable for me. I can take losing, but after going 1-0 down, the fight was gone, and that was so disappointing.

“We’re in trouble, we’re in serious trouble, because we’re not picking up wins, we’re not picking up points, and we’re out of the Scottish Cup. There’s a real possibility we can get dragged into the relegation fight, I said that to the players after the game.

“We cannot go on like this, but I can’t protect them any longer. They’ve got to stand up and be counted. They have to show the character because we can’t do anything else, there’s no transfer window, so they’re going to have to pick it up.”