Aberdeen

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson has praised his players for delivering positive results after having their character called into question.

When Robinson took charge last month the Dons were embroiled in the relegation battle and his tenure began with a three-game winless run.

Subsequent back-to-back victories - and clean sheets - against Hibernian and Kilmarnock have all but made Aberdeen safe as they have an eight-point cushion over second-bottom Kilmarnock with four games to go.

But Robinson, who takes his side to bottom club Livingston on Friday night, is taking nothing for granted.

"I think before I came in people questioned the character of the team," the former St Mirren boss said.

"It was questioned week in, week out. What they have shown is under an intense amount of pressure they can rise to that.

"We know we didn't play to the level we wanted to last week [in the 1-0 win against Killie] but you could feel the nervous energy. What we have done is be able to handle that, you have to grind results out at times and we have ground the two results out in different ways.

"There has been a real positivity around the camp. The players are playing under a lot of pressure so hopefully that has eased a little bit but we're still certainly not 100% safe.

"Whether we are safe or not we have still got work to do and until we are mathematically safe then nobody will be dropping any kind of standards here at the football club.

"My remit was make sure we are not in a relegation battle, we have still to confirm we are not so until we do that we won't be resting on our laurels."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Friday night's trip to Livingston.

Here are the main points:

• After back-to-back victories and clean sheets, Robinson says "winning breeds confidence" and there is a real positivity around the group.

• Despite being eight points above Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot, Robinson admits "we have still got work to do" to banish any concerns about their Premiership status.

• Robinson praised his players for handling the pressure and rising to the challenge of a relegation battle after having their character called into question.

• The Dons boss is keen to explore extending on-loan QPR defender Liam Morrison's stay beyond the summer and says: "When I first came up there were a lot of people doubting Liam, he is now showing what a good player he is."

• On giving fringe men a chance in the remaining games, Robinson admits: "There are players I haven't given an opportunity to due to the system, the wide players so, it would be very good to see those players on the pitch before I make decisions but first and foremost we get to that level of safety and then I can do that."

• On Livingston, the former St Mirren manager is expecting a tough game against "a team playing with freedom" which makes them even more dangerous and adds "they are not losing games by a lot".

• Team news: Emmanuel Gyamfi will be assessed and could return.

Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson is ready to give frozen out Australian winger Nicolas Milanovic a chance to impress. (Press and Journal), external

Read Thursday's Scottish football gossip

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• Livingston are winless in their past eight league meetings with Aberdeen (D3 L5) since a 2-1 victory in November 2022.

• Aberdeen have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three league visits to Livingston; the Dons last kept four consecutive away league clean sheets against an opponent from August 2020 to December 2021 versus St Johnstone.

• Livingston picked up their first win in 32 league games against St Mirren last time out (D12 L19); they last won back-to-back matches in the Scottish Premiership in January 2023.

• Aberdeen have won 13 of their past 14 league matches played on a Friday; the only exception was a 3-1 defeat at home to Celtic in May 2017. Away from home, the Dons have won each of their past six Friday matches in the Scottish Premiership by an aggregate score of 15-2.

• Kevin Nisbet needs one more goal to become the first Scottish player to score 10+ league goals in back-to-back seasons for Aberdeen since Lee Miller in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Stephen Robinson would have absolutely loved a scintillating performance to go along with the crucial three points collected for beating Kilmarnock, but the bottom line was the latter was far more important than the former.

While not arithmetically out of the woods, Aberdeen are all but safe from the prospect of dropping as low as 11th after Afeez Aremu's goal in the opening minute chiselled out an eight-point lead over Killie with a goal difference advantage of 15 on top of that.

There's no doubt Killie deserved to take at least a point from the match, but Aberdeen held out to record back-to-back Premiership wins for the first time since December; at Pittodrie for the first time this season; and two league clean sheets on the bounce for the first time since November.

They hadn't even kept two Premiership home clean sheets in a row for nearly two years. Small steps.

The Dons' unbroken top-flight status can be extended officially if they beat doomed Livingston on Friday night and Killie go on to drop points to Dundee United on Saturday. Dave Cormack, his board, and Robinson can then set about rebuilding the football operation.

The manager spoke after the game about people outside the Aberdeen support being excited at the prospect of the club's demise, and there is truth in that from elsewhere in the country.

A siege mentality isn't the worst disposition when you are in a one-club city with rivals getting the popcorn in.

There was much amazement on Saturday afternoon's Sportsound that Mats Knoester - out since January - had been named player of the year by the Dons at last week's dinner, but it simply underlines the paucity of candidates aside from the Dutchman, whose absence has been apparent throughout his more than three months on the sidelines.

Robinson will be delighted to be able to call upon his services for the final weeks of what's been a tortuous season. However, the nuclear twist of a nerve-shredding play-off looks to have been vanquished.

Aberdeen should move to extend the loan deal of defender Liam Morrison from Queens Park Rangers, saying Pittodrie legend Willie Miller. (Press & Journal - subscription required), external

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

How quickly things can change. A few weeks ago I was fearing the worst for Aberdeen.

Now, after back-to-back league wins for the first time since December, we are all but guaranteed Premiership survival.

I am sure Stephen Robinson will be looking to continue the positive narrative of the past couple of weeks as we head into the final four fixtures, starting on Friday night at Livingston.

Building momentum with further wins will undoubtedly breed confidence and belief before a huge summer rebuild.

Let's not beat around the bush, though. The performance against Kilmarnock still left a lot to be desired, but we have been saying that for a long time. However, the players showed character that has been lacking for long chunks of the season.

Not only is it successive wins, it's back-to-back clean sheets for a defence that has struggled this season. Another positive and shot of belief the Red Army can hold on to heading into the summer.

Again we looked composed, confident and competent. Okay, that may have largely lasted the first 20 minutes, but Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will the Robinson empire. The real building work is only four weeks away.

Glen Schreuder can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external

ARE HEARTS DESTINED TO WIN THE TITLE? 🏆

It was a seismic weekend in the hunt for the Scottish Premiership crown. Are you rejoicing, are you quietly optimistic, or are you chucking it?

Join the debate with Ray Bradshaw at 18:00 BST TONIGHT on the BBC Sport Scottish Football YouTube channel, external to give us your views in the chat. The show is fully interactive, so have your say.

Remember to like and subscribe to not miss it!

Watch the Sportscene panel discuss Aberdeen's chances of safety after their 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.

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Dundee's Luke Graham, Arbroath's Findlay Marshall, Rangers' on-loan Tottenham winger Mikey Moore and Falkirk's Barney Stewart have been nominated for the SPFL young player of the year award.

Centre-back Graham has been a key figure for Dundee in their fight against relegation and has also chipped in with three goals in all competitions.

Moore has scored six goals and contributed two assists in an impressive campaign at Ibrox, while Stewart has been prolific all season - scoring six in 11 Championship matches on loan at Dunfermline before finding the back of the net eight times for Falkirk in the top flight.

Midfielder Marshall - who is on loan from Aberdeen - has 12 goals in 35 games in the Championship as Arbroath chase promotion.

Midfielder Ryan Duncan, 22, who is on loan at Ross County from Aberdeen, is unsure over his Pittodrie future. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external

Monday's Scottish gossip

Watch all the highlights as Afeez Aremu's early goal helped Aberdeen to all three points against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership. Available to UK users only

Aberdeen fans, we asked for your views on Saturday's 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Malky: First and foremost delighted with the clean sheet and three points two games in a row, that has to be a confidence builder. All but safe but should not take our foot off the gas, it's still mathematically possible. My only real concern is that Killie could, and probably should, have had a handful of goals themselves. There's still a weakness in our defence and there's still a handful of players that are just not up to being an Aberdeen player. Hopefully the manager has clocked that by now and he's working on resolving it for next season.

Mark: A great start and although we maybe rode our luck with them hitting the bar twice we seem a bit more difficult to beat. The points and confidence from these results are the most important thing right now and confidence is building.

Fred: More grit and determination but Kilmarnock were the better team.

Niall: After a fast start and an early goal it looked like we would kick on and seal the deal. At the end of the match three precious points were taken and it wasn't pretty. There's no doubt Aberdeen are fighting for their survival but the reality is there is such a massive rebuild required to restore the levels of where this club belongs. At the moment we are far too easy to play against and so toothless up front.

Eric: Good to see another clean sheet, and what looks like the core of a team for next season. A much more solid team performance and although we rode our luck at times, we also had our chances. Would be a good end to the season to finish unbeaten.

Scott: I'll take the three points, but boy did we get a lucky break. I'll take that too, as we haven't had much luck this season. We're far from safe as things stand. Livi on Friday will be a tough game, and we'll need other results to go our way. The big thing for me is that we have to win our home games, if nothing else. Do that, we're safe. The thing is, I still have my doubts about these players capability to do that.

Aberdeen took a significant step towards Scottish Premiership safety by digging out a vital victory at home to Kilmarnock, who stay in the relegation play-off place.

What did you think about the Dons' performance?

Have your say.

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson: "Delighted with the result. I thought we started really, really well and played brilliantly for 15-20 minutes. Then we looked very nervous after that.

"It's to be expected of course. But one thing that hasn't been said about an Aberdeen side for a while is they're hard to beat, they defended crosses well and defended set-plays well.

"Their character was questioned throughout the season and I thought to a man they stood up today. Can we better on the ball? Of course we can.

"We can be more composed, take more touches and create more chances. But overall we created more chances, we allowed Killie to have the ball in certain areas, pressed them well and took the ball off them at times.

"I'm really proud of how they conducted themselves today, how they played, the energy, aggression, organisation - that's the basics.

"That's what hasn't been done for a long time here. We have to build on that. The nervousness will calm down hopefully and we'll add to that.

"Until someone tells me mathematically we're away from the play-off then we'll be continuing to work and build on that performance."

Aberdeen are interested in landing 21-year-old Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen this summer when his Dunfermline Athletic contract expires. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external

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Aberdeen are set to welcome centre-half Mats Knoester and on-loan Hoffenheim midfielder Dennis Geiger back into contention.

But Nicky Devlin, Kristers Tobers and Nick Suman remain out.

Marley Watkins and Jack Thomson will be assessed by Kilmarnock head coach Neil McCann.

However, Tyreece John-Jules, Djenairo Daniels and Matty Kennedy are sidelined.

Robbie Boyle
BBC Scotland

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People at Aberdeen have described the atmosphere at the club as "the best in months", according to head coach Stephen Robinson.

Robinson's comments come prior to Saturday's game against Kilmarnock, with the 51-year-old believing a win would give his side "breathing space" in the battle to avoid the relegation play-off spot.

Aberdeen picked up a vital three points in their last game against Hibernian - their first win since mid-February - and victory against Killie at Pittodrie would put Robinson's men eight points above their second-bottom opponents.

Robinson inherited a struggling side from Jimmy Thelin but believes he is starting to see more positivity from his players.

He said: "On the Friday before the [Hibs] game, the atmosphere around the training ground was the best I'd seen, and people had said to me it was the best seen in months.

"The atmosphere has been really good, it gives you something to build on.

"We have changed some things in the training ground, creating the players' lounge, creating an area where everybody has to come together.

"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.

"It's the culture 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."

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media before his side host relegation rivals Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Robinson says on the day before their victory over Hibernian, people around the club told him the atmosphere was the best they'd seen in months.

• Since his arrival, Robinson has been pleased with the increasingly positive feeling around the club and training ground, adding: "I think you need a culture at the football club. When I came in, obviously there had 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. "

• A win would take Aberdeen eight points clear of Killie in the relegation play-off spot and Robinson says: "If we managed to get the three points then it would ease the pressure a little bit. Certainly, it doesn't confirm that we're safe, but it makes it difficult for other teams to catch us. So it's a huge game."

• After the Dons ended a two-month winless streak with victory over Hibs, Robinson knows the fans will have a huge impact on the players in the run-in: "We had a fantastic backing and 18,500 in the stadium who were all right behind the team, and what a difference that makes. And the players respond to that. So we realise how big a game it is, we want to embrace the game."

• The head coach knows Killie will pose a real challenge under "good manager" Neil McCann and have a nice blend of technical and physical players. Aberdeen "have to be ready at the top of our game" against a side who are now playing with "freedom" in attack and committing players forward.

• With Aberdeen still in a relegation fight, Robinson says "confidence is everything" and praises a "core" in the squad who are setting the example.

• On Findlay Marshall, who recently signed a contract extension, Robinson says: "I pushed for that to be done very quickly and every time he's trained, he's impressed me. And it's just a shame it's not a co-operation agreement that he could probably play the last two games for us. So we're delighted he's on board. He's one of many of the young players I've been impressed with."

• Mats Knoester and Dennis Geiger are both in contention for Saturday's game. Robinson says: "Mats will come back into the squad for tomorrow, which is a huge boost. Dennis Geiger, if he gets through today, will come back into the squad again as well. So yeah, that's another boost for us getting into this game."

Aberdeen have an option to sign Dennis Geiger on a permanent basis but the on-loan midfielder has another year on his contract at Hoffenheim and the Pittodrie club cannot get near those Bundesliga wages. (Daily Record - subscription required), external