Ryan Jack stays grounded in midst of Aberdeen storm

Ryan Jack is refusing to put undue pressure on his team as they battle to regain their early-season form. Picture: SNS

After storming to the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership table with eight straight wins from the start of the season, a subsequent collapse has brought just one point in the last 15 as well as an exit from the Scottish League Cup to Championship side Hibernian.

Derek McInnes’s side have dropped into third place behind Hearts and leaders Celtic, although United do not have their troubles to seek either under new boss Mixu Paatelainen.

Two defeats and a victory in the league following the appointment of the Finn was followed by a crushing 3-0 loss to Hibs in the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. However, Jack, speaking to RedTV, was keen not to overstate the importance of the United match. The 23-year-old midfielder said: “I would never put that type of pressure on ourselves and say that it is a must-win game.

“We set out to win every game we play in and we want to win every game that we play in but we don’t put that pressure on ourselves to say that we must win.

“It is important that we stick together and if we play the way we have been training the last week or so, and take that form in training into the game, I am sure we will do fine. It is a great dressing room. Everyone knows we are going through a sticky spell and we can get back on form on Saturday.”

Jack, indeed, is confident that victory over United could see them go on another good run of form as he dismissed any notion that fatigue is a factor in their current struggle.

The former Scotland Under-21 player said: “I don’t see why not. If we can get that win we can get the confidence back and we can see the real Aberdeen team that we know that we can be.

“If you go by training, we are training hard and the standard has been excellent. So I don’t really think it is fatigue. All the boys are looking fit and sharp.”