Aberdeen defender Stefan Gartenmann admits the Dons have to look over their shoulders and prepare for a relegation battle.
Gartenmann’s side are now just three points ahead of second-bottom Ross County following Wednesday’s 1-0 cinch Premiership defeat by Dundee.
Without a win in 11 league games, without a manager and with nine matches left, the centre-back admits the pressure is building.
“We have to look one way at the moment and that’s down,” the Dane said. “Until we start winning games, that’s our focus.
“We have to accept the seriousness of everything now. The table doesn’t lie.
“We talked about postponed games in the past but it’s all even now and we’re not many points clear of the relegation zone.”
The on-loan Midtjylland player said: “The pressure is gaining on us every week and becoming bigger and bigger.
“We have to be able to deal with that because the teams we are playing are used to being in this situation.
“Aberdeen are not supposed to be in this situation but we are in this situation.
“Luckily I know a lot of the guys in the changing room have faced it before, I have too.”
The travelling fans vented their fury after the final whistle at Dens Park, telling the players in red that “you’re not fit to wear the shirt”.
“Right now, we’re not,” Gartenmann said. “Right now, they are completely right. We really appreciate that they keep showing us support and travelling in these numbers. We have to turn it around.
“We can’t keep talking about how good this team is and how good the players are if we’re not performing when we play league games.
“We can’t just show up at Hampden and Ibrox or wherever, we have to show up at Dens Park as well, we have to show up at Motherwell on Saturday.
“We can’t just turn up for the big games. These are the games we have to play for the rest of the season now.
“It’s not going to be pretty and we are not going to be flying over any teams now.
“We have to accept the battle we are in and treat every game like a cup final.”
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