Stephen Robinson met with the media at Cormack Park on Friday morning ahead of our game against Kilmarnock.

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Reflections on the last fortnight

“On the Friday before the game, the atmosphere around the training ground was the best I’d seen. And people had said to me it was the best I’d seen in months. So we just wanted to finish that off with a win, obviously. And we managed to do that, and we managed to do it well against a really good Hibs side, albeit they had 10 men for a large part of the game. But that comes with its difficulties as well. I thought we managed that very well.

“The atmosphere has been really good. It gives you something to build on. Otherwise, it’s a long two weeks. It could have been the opposite. But we went into this two week break, as I say, with a real positivity.

“We were able to do a little bit more coaching, play a game between ourselves. As I say, the atmosphere has just got better and better and people are starting to understand a little bit more what I want from them and we’re starting to see people get their confidence back. I think that’s the biggest thing from the result.

“The international break, everyone thinks you get a lot of time to work with players, half of them aren’t here. So that’s very, very difficult. It’s almost irrelevant what you do. But this has been good. We’ve managed to build on the things we’ve been doing, correct some of the things that we feel that we can be better at.

“And as I say, get to know players a little bit more because you’re not doing it with that time scale and pressure of games. We were able to get to know a little bit more about people and what makes them tick. And I would say, we’ve had a really good week.

Team News

“Mats will come back into the squad for tomorrow, which is a huge boost. I’ve tortured him since I came into the football club. I said it last night at the dinner, but when you’ve got a player that calibre not available, it’s a huge boost to everybody in the squad that he’ll be available to go back into the squad in some capacity tomorrow.

“Dennis Geiger, if he gets through today, will come back into the squad again as well. So that’s another boost for us getting into this game.

“(On creating a selection headache) Yeah, which I didn’t have when I first came in. We had no real options at the back with the injuries that we had. It certainly gives us a little bit more, but the boys started against Hibs did very well. I thought the back three in the games I’ve been in have been very good. They’ve got better and better as the weeks have gone on. There’s a fight for places which is the way it should be for Aberdeen Football Club into these last few games.

“I’ve spoken to Topi, Topi is very much part of it. The formation probably hinders him a little bit, but he can play as that second striker. He gives us the same kind of pace that Toyosi gives we get as well. So, he’s very much bought into that.

“Everyone has a chance every day. Just because they don’t start doesn’t mean to say that they haven’t got an opportunity. Every time they walk in this door, every time they’re on the training pitch, that’s an opportunity to impress for the last games and obviously for next season as well. So certainly, I don’t rule anybody in or out. Players rule themselves in and out, I don’t rule them in.

A big three points up for grabs

“I wish football was that simple. I really do. (A win would secure safety) But yeah, of course, what you’re saying is correct. If we manage to get the three points, then it would ease the pressure a little bit. It certainly doesn’t confirm that we’re safe, but it makes it difficult for other teams to catch us. It’s a huge game.

“It was a huge game against Hibs, and we had a fantastic backing, 18,000 in the stadium who were all right behind the team and what a difference that makes. And the players respond to that. We realise how big a game it is. We want to embrace the game.

“When you play for Aberdeen Football Club, you play under pressure. It’s the wrong end of pressure at this moment in time, but you have to deal with that. And as you say, that outcome would give us a bit of breathing space.

Qualities of Kilmarnock

“Yeah, they are (fighting for their lives). They’ve got a good manager. I really like Neil. Get on really well with him. But they’ve also got good players. You say about their physicality as well, they’ve got some very good technical players.

“There are a lot of teams down in this scrap that have got good players and things have gone against each team, and I’m sure everyone’s got their reasons. But we have to be right at the top of our game. There is absolutely no easy games.

“They’re playing with a freedom of where they’re in this position and they’re going to play quite cavalier at times in terms of their forward play. They commit a lot of numbers forward and they have players that can hurt you on that top end of the pitch, but so do we.

“They showed that last week. We’ve matched the physicality, like Falkirk as well who are a good football side, but they’ve got that physicality. Hibs are a big, strong side with technical talent in there as well, and we matched that. There’s certainly no reason why we can’t. We’ve got the people to match it. We’ve got the personnel to match it and certainly that’s what we’d be aiming to do tomorrow.

Creating a positive culture

“I think you try and you need a culture at the football club. When I came in, obviously there’s been a lot of change, a lot of managers, a lot of different voices, so that’s hard for the players to actually know what you want. So that takes a little bit of time.

“I think we’re getting there now. We’ve changed some things in the training ground, creating a player’s lounge, creating an area where everybody has to come together, taking them out in a couple of team bonding things during the day.

“People say you need to be doing triple sessions with them on the pitch, but when you’ve got a togetherness that people are pulling together, which I can see now starting to show more and more, then you’ll run through brick walls for each other, and in these games, that’s what we need.

“I’m starting to see that. It’s the culture that I want to create. We’re getting there. It takes a little bit of time. It takes individuals to buy into that, but I’m starting to see progress in that.

“I think belief is the message to the players. Confidence is everything. We spoke about it many, many times. When you go into games, you have to go in with confidence. And when you’re as organised as we are now, when you know that you’re going to work for each other, then you have to go in with confidence because there’s ability there.

“If you have a framework to show that ability, if you do the simple things better than the opposition, we will win the games. And they’ve bought into that and they believe in that and we’ve got a core group of players that are leading that now.

Findlay Marshall and our young Dons

“I’ve been really impressed. I said to the recruitment staff, if we were looking at people in the Scottish Championship and they scored 15 goals, we’d be looking at them and saying ‘why are they not playing for Aberdeen? Are they good enough to step up?’

“Findlay is one of our own, I thought it was really important that we got that done. I pushed for that to be done very quickly. Every time he’s trained, he’s impressed me.

“It’s just a shame it’s not a cooperation agreement and he could probably play the last two games for us. We’re delighted he’s on board. He’s one of many of the young players I’ve been impressed with.

“Players like Dylan Lobban, Mitchel Frame and Jack Milne, who is still a young boy. People forget that. You don’t peak as a centre half until you’re 29. Jack’s a young kid who’s played every game.

“And we’ve got other players in the background, out on loan as well at Cove, that I really believe have come in and done very, very well in the sessions. So the future looks bright in terms of the young academy boys coming through and it’s just getting to the end of the season and then building on it.

Scouting Scotland

“It was a scouting trip, and the player didn’t play. It was a long journey, but it was a good game. St. Johnstone confirmed their promotion and won the league, so it was worth watching. You always go down and you see something.

“There are certainly players that can step up to this division, no doubt. I’ve done that before at previous clubs. But that’s the scouting department, they’re on top of that. They know all the players.

“When things get flagged up to me, I try as much as I possibly can to watch people in person because ultimately, I live and die by those decisions. That’s not always feasible depending on where it is, but the Scottish Championship is somewhere very, very close to us.

Final thoughts

“It will be a physical battle, yeah, because of the nature of the game. But I believe they’ve got a lot of talented players. They’ve got a lot of good footballers. I’ve worked with some of them, Brad Lyons, Greg Kiltie. Greg is a real threat in behind; they’ve got pace up front.

“They’ve got players that can hurt us. We have to go into the game knowing that and be very prepared for that. But also, when you match them and do the simple things I’ve spoken about, we’ve got the talent in the squad that can do exactly the same to them and hurt them, and I believe we can do that.”