Nothing short of a win will do. Our start to the campaign has been horrific and, reportedly, our worst since the war. If we get three points then we'll have a huge confidence lift ahead of Saturday's crucial trip to Tynecastle. Lose and the mood will get even worse and Danny Lennon's time will surely be at an end. I don't want to see anyone lose their job but the results don't lie - we've been shocking since we won the League Cup and it will be time for a change if the run continues. Hopefully tomorrow will somehow see us produce a win and that debate can be put on the back burner for another week or two. If we don't win, then at least give us some goals, a draw and a performance that suggests things might be about to turn around if the board stick with it.
It's time for my first fixture related rant of the season - things are obviously improving if it's taken until the end of September for one! Why on earth are we playing Aberdeen on a Monday night? I appreciate that the TV companies have to choose games to show, and I know that the clubs signed up to the deal so shouldn't complain when games are scheduled at inconvenient times, but this is just ridiculous. Asking Aberdeen fans to make one of their longest trips of the season on a Monday rather than at the weekend is crazy, while it will also impact on us as they won't bring anywhere near as big a crowd. Even a Saturday lunchtime kick-off would have been better than this.
I'm not sure why they want to show this game anyway. The last time we played Aberdeen on TV was about 18 months ago and, aside from a two minute spell with two goals, it was absolutely dire. We aren't the most prolific team at the moment and there's a chance this could end up being another goalless affair, although Aberdeen did hammer Falkirk in the cup during the week. Arguably a goalless draw wouldn't be the worst result in the world as Aberdeen are going pretty well at the moment. However, we've won more than we've lost against them at the new ground and we could really do with keeping that run going.
So, what changes can we expect for tomorrow? Perhaps we should be trying to think which ones will be a surprise as they're the ones we're most likely to see! Christopher Dilo seemed to do well on his debut, but it wouldn't be a huge shock if the goalie was dropped in favour of David Cornell. We have to start Stephane Bahoken to give Steven Thompson some help up front, while surely it is time for Gary Harkins to be left on the bench so we can play Paul McGowan in his more natural role and have John McGinn in from the start.
Last week we saw the 3-5-2 formation binned despite Lennon having waxed lyrical about it after the Motherwell game. We're unlikely to see it return tomorrow as we're without the suspended Danny Grainger and therefore have no one to play on the left as David Barron is still injured. If we return to a back four we can at least play Sean Kelly or Mo Yaqub in that role - or Darren McGregor or Lee Mair at an absolute push. One of them may be needed in the middle, however, as Marc McAusland is in a race against time to make the game after getting injured in training last week.
Last year many people - not just Dons fans - reckoned Aberdeen could snatch the second place that was up for grabs due to Rangers' absence. I didn't see it myself and sure enough it didn't come to pass as they didn't make the top six. Still, they're a positive lot up at Pittodrie and they fancy themselves to finish second this time around and the League Cup must now be in their sights too. Again, I have my doubts as their summer recruitment drive hasn't been particularly impressive - although it could be argued they haven't lost any key players while most other teams have lost at least one. The fans are turning out in force again and Derek McInnes seems to have them playing a more attacking brand of football than Craig Brown deployed, the final season of his time in charge at Aberdeen reminiscent of the tail end of his spell in charge of Scotland.
In fairness to Brown, he did pull a master stroke by converting Niall McGinn into a goal machine. There was much confusion when he signed the winger from Celtic last year and decided to play him up front, but it worked wonders as the Northern Irishman scored for fun. Getting him tied down on an extended contract was a great move by McInnes but now he must find another striker to share the workload. Calvin Zola has been brought in over the summer but has looked rather raw, while Scott Vernon looked to have rediscovered his form during the week. With Rory Fallon being ditched youngster Cammy Smith should get more of a chance while Josh Magennis, like Vernon, has an annoying knack of scoring against us.
The big problem during Brown's time in charge was the midfield wasn't exactly creative, something McInnes has tried to address over the summer. Barry Robson - who always does well against us - may be in the twilight years of his career but picking him up should pay off, his set-piece abilities alone worth the money. Willo Flood flatters to deceive at times and some Dundee United fans were happy to see him go, but getting Gregg Wylde - one of the few people to be made redundant by Rangers - was a good move. McInnes should also be capable of getting more out of Jonny Hayes than Brown did, the winger only producing in flashes after moving from Inverness Caley Thistle a year ago. Peter Pawlett is being used to try to make up for the loss of Ryan Fraser in January, while there are high hopes for the likes of Jamie Masson and Nicky Low.
While Brown's team maybe lacked in creativity it did at least have a solid base. Joe Shaughnessy came from nowhere to establish himself as a first team regular last season and he and Clark Robertson should benefit greatly from playing alongside the experienced Russell Anderson. The centre-half's time down south didn't go according to plan, not least because of injuries, but he seems to have recaptured his form at Pittodrie. He'll soon be reunited with Andrew Considine, who is only now just getting himself fit after breaking his leg last season. Mark Reynolds is another solid performer at the back and Michael Hector has been borrowed from Reading. Jamie Langfield is reliable at times and a bit error prone at others, as he proved when he got himself a rather silly red card against Celtic earlier in the season. Nicky Weaver, who had a brief stint at Dundee United a few years ago, has been brought in and perhaps the presence of another decent goalie to provide competition will have Langfield performing on a more consistent basis.
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