Stephen Robinson admitted he was very disappointed with the performance of his Aberdeen side as they dropped their standards and fell to defeat against St. Mirren.
“The first-half performance, we've seen this many times this season, it lacked intensity. All of a sudden we decided we were going to start playing out from the back. We played in front of them, we passed the ball too slowly, we moved the ball backwards, sideways, without hurting them. That's not what we've done for the last six games.
“The first-half performance cost us. I made sure they knew what I thought at half-time. We got a reaction, we should have scored with numerous chances. End product, final decision, hitting the target, one-on-one opportunities you don't take. We got a reaction for 20 minutes, but not enough.
“For the first goal, we just didn't react to their free-kick. It was quite clear what was going to happen, it was quite obvious, we were screaming from the sidelines. The concentration levels for free-kicks and corners have been a problem for us all season.
“As I say, there was no intensity in the game. Subconsciously, some of the players have turned up tonight to come and play an end of season game, and some of them turned up with an intensity fighting for their lives.
“It didn't look like my team from the last six weeks where we played behind teams, we outworked teams, we out-battled teams. We had free-kicks and instead of delivering balls into the box, we played backwards and ended up back at our own goalkeeper. That's not a Stephen Robinson team. I'm disappointed in that. It does happen subconsciously at times where players don't have the same drive as when there's something massive on the game, which there has been in recent weeks. I understand it to an extent, but it doesn't mean to say it's acceptable.
“Sometimes it happens, I can’t be too critical of the players because when I needed them, they galvanised themselves and they produced the results to make sure we got out of trouble. But that isn't the standard needed at Aberdeen Football Club. What it's shown me is there is a big job in terms of the summer recruitment, and it's a big job to make sure we're going in the right direction.
“I don't think you play yourself out of playing for Aberdeen in the future in one game. But certainly there's players that were involved tonight, that won’t be next season. That happens at any football club, there has to be change, and the recruitment starts as soon as the final whistle goes on Sunday. What was proved tonight was it was a matter of mentality.
“On Sunday, I want to make sure I put in players that are going to run and work and play the same way that we've played in the run that got us out of trouble. Playing like tonight is the way we got in trouble. What people perceive as good football sometimes is football that attracts pressure and attracts press. We're not playing with enough confidence to do that at this moment in time. We want to end the season on a high against Dundee on Sunday, and then there’s a big job of work to do.”
