Stephen Robinson proud of his battling Dons but injury crisis deepens

Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson has revealed his injury crisis has become even more catastrophic ahead of the weekend league visit of Hibernian that has the potential to make or break his reign.

The Dons manager saw his side put in a fine, disciplined display in going down 1-0 to Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final, but lost Emmanuel Gyamfi within 15 minutes after he collided with Kim Min-su and also has Brad Lyons battling a knock.

Robinson admitted afterwards that there is no chance of longer-term absentees Chris Cadden, Mats Knoester and Lewis Mayo being available, with Dan Happe the only player likely to return for the Saturday night showdown with Premiership bottom dogs Hibs after being suspended last night.

‘Gyamfi will be out for a long period of time,’ reported Robinson. ‘It looked like it was maybe the other thigh that he’s had a problem with. It’s a heartbreaker for the boy.

‘Brad Lyons took a really bad knock. I’m not sure how serious that is. Hopefully, he’s got away with it.

‘Chris Cadden will be out for six weeks. Mats Knoester is four to six weeks.

‘The only plus point is Dan Happe. It’s very difficult because half the squad are not available. Any team that does well, there’s consistency and patience.

‘Over time, the last person that had prolonged success in Aberdeen was Derek (McInnes). He was given a lot of time and a lot of support, but we’ve not been able to put a consistent team, never mind a consistent shape, on the pitch.

‘It’s four changes every week at the moment.’

Robinson, however, stated his pride in the way his players performed and backed centre-back Jack Milne while taking a pop at the criticism he has come in for of late.

‘They rose against adversity this time. They put in a real performance,’ he said.

‘Rangers scored during our best spell in the game, which is unfortunate, but it’s been a tough week for us with injuries, really tough.

‘They showed great character and courage.

‘Jack’s a young man. Surprisingly, he’s from Aberdeen and he still gets an incredible amount of stick.

‘He’s had one full season and he’s a lovely boy that wants to learn. He’s just learning the game. I thought he showed real character.’

Robinson also refused to criticise captain Kevin Nisbet after seeing him pass up a couple of golden chances.

‘If you want chances to fall to anyone, it’s Kevin and he had the opportunity to play Mitchy Ntelo in with one of them when clean through,’ he reflected.

‘We had grown into the game. We were organised defensively despite not knowing what our team would be until Saturday morning.

‘I’m proud of the players because they gave me absolutely everything.

‘You’d need to ask the fans if they saw positive performances. I can only answer for myself. I saw a group of boys give everything in adversity.

‘Everyone expected us to roll over and get battered but that wasn’t the case. They’ve shown they have the character to play for Aberdeen in big games, no doubt.’