Aberdeen

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "When you lose a game in the last situation, it's always difficult. A lot of emotions especially when you have the run we had in the last period.

"I need to also think about the future. It was something better than the last games. The duels were better, the effort was better, it was a more compact team. We have to try to recover now and go for the next challenge.

"The only thing for us is to try to stay together and try to be better. The performance today was quite good if you compare it to the last two, three, four games. We have to find a way back now, take this challenge and be brave.

"I understand [fans' frustrations]. Everybody wants success for Aberdeen. They are there to support us and there are a lot of emotions in football.

"You can't be too worried, you have to believe in the things you want to do and do a little bit more to get three points."

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Dundee United are without the suspended Declan Gallagher after the centre-half was sent off late on against St Johnstone.

Louis Moult and Craig Sibbald remain out.

Aberdeen will be without long-term absentees Vicente Besuijen, Jack Milne and Pape Habib Gueye.

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• Dundee United have lost each of their last three league meetings with Aberdeen, this after only losing one of their previous seven against the Dons beforehand (W3 D3).

• Aberdeen are winless in their last eight league meetings away from home with newly promoted opposition (D3 L5) since winning 3-1 at Ross County in November 2019 under Derek McInnes.

• Excluding years in which they were relegated, Dundee United have lost their final top-flight match of a calendar year in six of their last seven attempts, although did win the most recent 3-0 against Ross County in 2022.

• Aberdeen have lost their final league match of both of the last calendar years, as many as their previous 19 beforehand (W10 D7).

• Dundee United's Jim Goodwin has won just two of his last 10 league meetings against former side Aberdeen (D3 L5), losing both against the Dons since leaving the club.

Sportscene pundits Scott Allan and Steven Naismith analyse their 4-0 defeat by Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

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Nicky Devlin says he and his Aberdeen team-mates "have to have a bit more pride in ourselves" - and "in playing for the football club" - after their downturn in results continued with their 4-0 humbling away to Kilmarnock on Boxing Day.

The 31-year-old Scotland right-back admits that some collective soul searching failed to prevent a seventh straight game without a win.

"It doesn't really seem to be getting us anywhere in terms of results and performances improving," he told Red TV.

"We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves: 'Are we doing enough? Are we contributing to the team enough? Are we giving the club enough?'

"And I think probably most of us will put our hands up and say we're not."

Devlin admitted the defeat at Rugby Park was "embarrassing", that "for a five/six-week period now it's not been good enough", but he was at a loss to explain what had gone wrong for a side that won their opening 13 games of the season - and were unbeaten for 16 - under new manager Jimmy Thelin.

"We can't get much lower to be honest," he said. "As the manager said, hopefully that's as low as we can go.

"It's probably a head scratcher from the start of the season. The team that played at the start of the season to the team that played now looks like two completely different sides on the park."

Devlin added that "we are going to be in trouble" in Sunday's trip to face in-form Dundee United unless they find a solution.

We asked for your thoughts on Aberdeen's 4-0 Boxing Day defeat by Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Craig: Toothless. Lacklustre. No belief, fight or creativity. We are a pale imitation of the team at the start of the season. That long winning run papered over obvious deficiencies in the team. My biggest worry is that some players appear not to care.

John W: Time for Jimmy Thelin to stamp his authority over the playing squad. If Jamie McGrath, Jack MacKenzie and Duk are not signing new contracts, then it's better they go in January. Same applies to Kevin Nisbet who has been a massive disappointment. In times of trouble, you need players who are totally committed to the club.

John O: Badly need Pape Gueye back. Still fully onboard with Thelin's approach but some players are struggling with confidence and some, such as Leighton Clarkson, just aren't up to the physicality of the Scottish Premiership. A centre-back should be first on the list of recruits, closely followed by cover for centre midfield. Let's keep filling Pittodrie and stay positive.

Allan: We need to start to pick up points and we need to get back into the January transfer window and get new players in, we need another striker, how about Lawrence Shankland?

Graham: I am totally bamboozled! Same coaching staff and same players. Supporters left scratching their heads as to what has gone wrong. Unbelievable unexpected heavy defeats. We need to get back to the basics and play the game simply like we started off the season. Saturday's game is turning out to be a must win to install much needed confidence for 2025.

Barry: The players are the problem. most of the squad are the same lads that have had the last three managers sacked. Barry Robson got a bounce and great run from them then inconsistency. Now Thelin is seeing the same problems from the same players. Hopefully we can move some of these frauds on and get some new players, who can provide the consistency needed.

John M: I made the point about eight weeks ago when we were still on a high, the goals we were losing were as a result of poor defending and now the defending is abysmal, again we had a three-on-one situation and we lost a goal. It is difficult to understand where the defenders' heads are, confidence is poor and leadership is non-existent.

Allen: It's just as I predicted to all my mates who laughed at me. I always felt that this team would be found out sooner or later. Aberdeen have always needed a firebrand of a manager not a quiet individual like Thelin. I always wanted Neil Lennon but was laughed out of court. Now we see what the end result is, a pale manager and gutless team.

Watch highlights as Kilmarnock win 4-0 against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.

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• Kilmarnock are undefeated in their past four games in the Scottish Premiership, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 1 September 2024 to 20 October 2024, a run of five games.

• Aberdeen have failed to win in their past seven games in the Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 24 January 2024 to 13 March 2024, a run of 11 games.

• Kilmarnock have scored in each of their past four games in the Premiership, scoring seven goals in that run.

• Kilmarnock have scored in their past four games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of eight games from 1 September 2024 to 3 November 2024.

• Bruce Anderson has scored six goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), more than any other Kilmarnock player.

• Daniel Armstrong has assisted four goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), more than any other Kilmarnock player.

Aberdeen are now seven matches without a victory following a 4-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

The hosts dominated throughout as Jimmy Thelin's side were outplayed, outfought and were made to look a pale imitation of the team who made a storming start to the season.

Dons fans, let us know your thoughts on today's defeat here, external.

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "You can win games, you can draw games, you can lose games. But the way we lost today was not resisted enough or competitive enough.

"We had a big away support here today a day after Christmas. We did not do enough. We must apologise to our supporters. I hope this was our worst performance of the season and it will not happen again.

"[Kilmarnock] did really well today. We have to compete more and do much better. I do not want to take anything away from them. They are clear in what they are doing, but we did not fight back today. We were not good enough.

"This is football sometimes. Some bad periods and good periods. But today was too low. Hopefully this was rock bottom and we are on the way up.

"We can't hide. We need to hold our heads high and prepare for the next game. It is our job to make the performance better."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland at Rugby Park

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Jimmy Thelin is a coach who exudes a calmness no matter the situation.

The Swede never once looked like getting carried away during Aberdeen's storming start to the season, nor has he looked at all panicked during this recent winless run.

This performance must have been a concern, though. His side offered nothing in attack, looked nervous at the back and were second best in pretty much every individual battle.

All the purpose and conviction of the opening months of the season was missing in Aberdeen's play.

Graeme Shinnie and Jamie McGrath were unable to exert any meaningful influence in midfield. The attacking players failed to make any sort of impression.

The only piece of goalmouth action Duk saw was to clear a Bobby Wales first-half effort off his own line.

Other than Dimitar Mitov, who made a string of good saves to keep the scoreline down, it's hard to think of a single Aberdeen player who would receive pass marks.

If this slump is not to become a full-blown crisis, this side will need to pick up very quickly.

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Jimmy Thelin opts to make four changes following Aberdeen's defeat to Hibernian last week.

Dimitar Mitov returns in goal after recovering from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the last three matches. Stand-in keeper Ross Doohan drops to the bench.

Angus MacDonald, Duk and Peter Ambrose also come in to the XI, replacing Gavin Molloy, Leighton Clarkson and Ester Sokler.

Follow our live coverage here.

Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Watson, Mayo, Wright, Ndaba, Armstrong, Polworth, Lyons, Murray, Vassell, Wales.

Substitutes: O'Hara, Burroughs, McKenzie, Mackay-Steven, Magennis, Cameron, Anderson, Donnelly, Bainbridge.

Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Rubezic, MacDonald, MacKenzie, Heltne Nilsen, Shinnie, Duk, McGrath, Keskinen, Ambrose.

Substitutes: Doohan, Polvara, Nisbet, Clarkson, McGarry, Palaversa, Sokler, Morris, Molloy.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

All Aberdeen's excellent work in the first quarter of the season is in danger of unravelling.

Having looked like a stick-on for third place – and perhaps even higher – until mid-November, the team's form has fallen off a cliff with only three points collected from the last 18 available.

They are joint bottom of the form table over the last six games with only goal difference in that time keeping Ross County below them. During this run, Celtic and Rangers have picked up 13 points more than the Dons, St Mirren nine more and Hibernian seven more.

And the fixtures ahead are fraught with danger as Aberdeen prepare to visit Kilmarnock on Boxing Day and Dundee United on Sunday before a trip to Motherwell after County first foot them at the start of January. These are crucial times in Jimmy Thelin's first season at Pittodrie.

The goals shipped during Saturday's home defeat to Hibernian all came via awful mistakes and it has been a theme during this period. Errors that were going unpunished during the breathtaking opening to the campaign are being capitalised on now and a lot of it can be traced back to the League Cup semi-final humbling by Celtic at the start of last month.

The three goals Aberdeen conceded in that 11-minute spell at the end of the first half at Hampden were all avoidable. As were the two at St Mirren. As was Rocky Bushiri's late equaliser for Hibs at Easter Road. Nicky Devlin's own goal equaliser for Hearts at Tynecastle, Reo Hatate's winner for Celtic, Makenzie Kirk's opener for St Johnstone at Pittodrie. All were cheap concessions and the centre of the defence in particular appears to need major surgery.

Elie Youan's quickfire leveller for Hibs at the weekend set the tone for what followed. After what had been a promising start by the home side, Slobodan Rubezic's woeful attempt at a clearance for that one summed up the Dons' form which has also seen them record just one clean sheet in their last 13 Premiership fixtures with 11 conceded in this sequence of six.

Aberdeen are still well placed to have a successful campaign, and injuries haven't helped them, but there clearly needs to be much more work done in the winter transfer window than any Dons fan would have envisaged when they left Pittodrie after the stirring victory over Rangers at the end of October if they are to avoid wasting their spectacular start.

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Aberdeen have submitted a bid for Grasshoppers' Latvia defender Kristers Tobers, 24. (Not the Old Firm), external

Willie Miller encourages his former club Aberdeen to target experienced defenders in the January transfer window. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read latest Scottish gossip

• Kilmarnock have won their last three home league games against Aberdeen, this after being winless in 16 such meetings beforehand (D4 L12).

• Aberdeen have lost more of their last six league meetings with Kilmarnock (4) than their previous 36 beforehand (3), although won their first such clash this season 2-0 in August.

• Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes has only lost one of his seven managerial home league games against former side Aberdeen (W4 D2), going down 1-0 with St Johnstone in August 2010.

• Kilmarnock have lost both of their last two Boxing Day games in the Scottish Premiership, this after winning four in a row on this day in the top flight prior.

• Each of Aberdeen's last three Boxing Day league games have seen them win 2-1 since a 4-3 defeat to Celtic in 2018.

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Kilmarnock remain without the suspended Robbie Deas, while Matty Kennedy (back) and Liam Donnelly (hamstring) are still doubts but Robby McCrorie should return. Stuart Findlay (ankle) is a long-term absentee.

Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov has returned to training after a hamstring problem. Vicente Besuijen (knee), Jack Milne (ankle) and Pape Habib Gueye (quad) are long-term absentees.

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Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Aberdeen's Boxing Day game with Kilmarnock.

Here are the key points from the Pittodrie boss:

• Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov – whose hamstring injury was expected to keep him out until mid-January – is back in training and available for the trip to Rugby Park.

• After six games without a win, Thelin says confidence is not an issue but the Dons need "to be more stable as a team".

• The Swede stressed the need to improve - citing the "unnecessary" loss of rhythm in the last two games - but says that has been the case since the start of the season.

• Aberdeen head to Kilmarnock with "strong belief" of victory and Thelin doesn't want "excuses about the pitch etc".

• On whether he is learning more during this challenging run, he says: "Every day is learning about the league, the players, but it's still football and we have a vision of how we want to look - that intensity team - and how we want to play. Sometimes you go one step back and want to push again for two steps forward."