How Aberdeen's united front has seen them through - with inspiration from one key man
The Dons were ravaged by injury but, in a tweaked formation, came eight minutes from taking all three points against Rangers and still emerged with a point to add to their first win since July against Hibs last weekend.
With central midfielders playing wing-back and at centre-back, the visitors had an unorthodox look against the league champions with Scott Brown anchoring a central defensive unit of McCrorie and David Bates, flanked by Funso Ojo and Dean Campbell.
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Hide AdIt may have been unusual but it worked with an effort to improve the Dons stuttering form that had manager Stephen Glass come under pressure early in his Pittodrie tenure, but McCrorie believes there is confidence to be taken and a corner has been turned.
“Well, I hope so,” the former Rangers youngster said. "We changed the shape a bit and it seemed to suit us. We have strung a couple of results together. It is up to us to keep the performances up and keeping getting points on the table.
“I think if you look at our games you could tell we were playing well. It is just a couple of wee small details. If we can tidy up the small details and string a few results together then hopefully we can accumulate as many points as we can.”
Small details include taking chances and Brown certainly took his, diving to meet a Dylan McGeouch corner and send the visitors 2-0 up. However the togetherness in the squad to right the recent run has also seen McCrorie putting in extra effort with his new defensive partner since his move from midfield to defensive cover.
“Broony is good in there. He is also very good in the middle, in centre mid, as well. He dropped in during the last game – I just need to do all the running for him but that’s alright!,” McCrorie joked. “No, Broony has been magnificent since he came in. I can only say good things about him.”
And he added those compliments for the skipper’s goal too: “I said to him ‘where did you pull that from?’ Brilliant! As I say, he has been magnificent since he came in. He is a true leader and all of the boys look up to him.”
The Dons are looking up to fewer teams in the cinch Premiership table since their win over Hibs last week moved them into eighth place. The criticism of Stephen Glass has also reduced but McCrorie insists it didn’t filter back to the players who are united in turning the form around and building on recent results over a longer period.
“That is all outside noise. We just focus on ourselves. We are in our own wee bubble at the training ground. All the boys stick together and the management stick together.
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Hide Ad“We stick together all the time, including through the difficult times. Maybe results weren’t going our way, but the tide is starting to turn a wee bit. Hopefully we can keep accumulating as many points as possible.”