Aberdeen stars fume behind closed doors as Nicky Devlin breaks silence on turbulent season

After a spirited but ultimately fruitless performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Conference League, Aberdeen is now turning its attention back to domestic matters. Following a narrow 3-2 defeat, the focus within the team has shifted to the urgent need for Premiership points to lift the club off the bottom of the table.

Nicky Devlin, reflecting on the recent European loss, emphasized the necessity of converting positive displays into tangible results. “Yes, it’s positive but ultimately we lost the game. So at the end of the day you don’t get any points,” he admitted. The full-back stressed that while good performances and goals are encouraging, the team must begin collecting points both in Scotland and Europe to improve their situation.

Aberdeen’s struggles in front of goal have been a persistent issue this season. Jesper Karlsson’s penalty and a header from Devlin himself against Shakhtar marked the team’s first goals of the campaign at Pittodrie, breaking a concerning drought. Devlin acknowledged the relief among players, stating, “Listen, everyone was getting annoyed by it. There’s been games this year we’ve not looked like scoring either, which is the biggest problem.”

The lack of creativity has compounded Aberdeen’s issues, but there were signs of promise in their European outing. “If you’re not scoring goals but at least you’re creating chances, then it’s maybe a wee bit easier because you know eventually one of them is going in,” Devlin explained. Against Shakhtar, he felt the team managed to create more opportunities, noting that their opponents’ goalkeeper was kept busy throughout the match.

Despite Shakhtar’s status as big spenders and Conference League favorites, Devlin was disappointed that Aberdeen couldn’t take anything from the game. “I think we knew they were going to have a lot of the ball there. I think they’ve been in the Champions League for a good few years,” he said, adding that Aberdeen didn’t simply surrender possession and managed to trouble the visitors at times.

Looking ahead to the upcoming Premiership clash with Dundee, there is concern about a potential European hangover. Both Devlin and manager Jimmy Thelin are intent on ensuring the team brings energy and determination to Pittodrie. “It’s not up to the fans to get us going. We’re the ones in the park. We have to give them something to get behind,” Devlin said, highlighting the importance of providing supporters with reasons to rally behind the team.

The role of Aberdeen’s home support remains crucial, according to Devlin, who believes that strong performances at Pittodrie are key to making it an intimidating venue for opponents. “We know how important they can be if we can make this place hard for teams not wanting to come up here. We have to start that by winning on Sunday and then going on a good run,” he added.

Midfielder Stuart Armstrong has also voiced his belief that Aberdeen is making progress and called for the team to demonstrate that improvement against Dundee. Manager Jimmy Thelin is expected to make changes to the lineup, but will be without Kristers Tobers due to a knee injury, further complicating the team’s challenge as they seek their first league victory of the season.