Dons’ slide into SPL basement makes Mawene a worried man

The Dons slipped into the basement spot last week with a 2-0 defeat at Kilmarnock which owed as much to their lapses as the hosts’ supremacy. The Pittodrie men aim to get back to winning ways at home to St Mirren today, but the French defender, 32, says he is worried.

He told RedWeb: “It has been a difficult week. I am not going to lie. It was a very disappointing result on Saturday. We have been trying to pick ourselves up for what is another crucial game. I keep saying that, but as we are at home we have to be pumped up and ready.

“We looked at the game against Kilmarnock on the video and again it was a bit of a similar tale – dominating without really any cutting edge, then giving away two easy goals. That has been us. It is cause for concern. I am looking at how I can help improve the situation and turn things around.

“We are looking at getting a clean sheet. From there sneak a goal and then take it from there. If we can just get a result from somewhere, I believe the confidence and belief will come back.

“We have a big week coming up with three important games, but I am personally just looking at St Mirren. We need to concentrate on that game. We are at home and we are looking to take maximum points from that. Then we can worry about the other games.” Mawene has fought previous relegation battles with former clubs Derby County and Preston North End. He believes Aberdeen have to become a “horrible” team to play against, while making life difficult for their opponents.

He said: “This week, we have been speaking about getting back to basics. Look at all the key things you need to win a game: organisation, awareness, desire, being aggressive and, as I say, going back to basics. Everyone has to stand up and be counted.

“Also, being horrible and being difficult to beat. We have to be more ruthless. More pressing when we don’t have the ball. I think sometimes we get comfortable in possession. The effort is there, but we have to have a far higher work-rate running off the ball. All of us.

“People talk about creativity, but nothing stops you from making runs – people running in behind, always on the move, That is horrible to defend. Eventually you will open up gaps, especially later in the game. Sometimes we are a little bit static, which makes things easy for defenders.”

St Mirren striker Steven Thompson, meanwhile, is determined to ensure their losing run does not extend to three games after defeats by Celtic and Inverness saw them slip out of the top six of the SPL.

In Aberdeen, St Mirren know they face a team even more in need of points after Caley Thistle’s 2-1 win in Paisley sent them bottom of the SPL.

Thompson said: “We’re looking for a reaction. I suppose everyone thought we would get a reaction after the Celtic game, having lost 5-0. The Inverness game was just a very bad day for us. We didn’t do the things we normally do, we didn’t play well.

“Hopefully, come Saturday we can get back on track because we don’t want to get detached from the top six. That’s our aim and we want to keep as close as we can to it.

“It’s such a tight league, with two wins in a row you can be fired up into the top six, two losses in a row and you can be dragged into the relegation area. We need to bounce back, that’s the main thing for us. Back-to-back defeats is poor, especially one at home, and this is now a really big game for us.”

Thompson does not find it unusual to see his opponents bottom. “I’m not surprised, because it could be any club really,” the former Rangers striker said. “For me there is not a lot of difference between any team in the league, outside of Rangers and Celtic.” The manner of St Mirren’s defeat by Inverness prompted manager Danny Lennon to question his approach after Marc McAusland’s misplaced pass across his own 18-yard box gifted the opening goal. But Lennon this week reaffirmed his commitment to playing a passing game.

“The manager likes to, and we all like to pass the ball,” Thompson said. “It’s the way St Mirren like to play. Regardless of the conditions, I don’t see us changing our philosophy that much. The manager is always on at us to pass the ball and I think we’ll do that. We maybe just need to not take as many risks and do the passing further up the pitch. But we’ll not change our philosophy.”