A welcome win but everything feels very flat around Dons

EVEN though his record in helping select managers at Motherwell was something of a mixed bag, Alan Burrows did much good work in reinforcing relationships with supporters and the wider community at Fir Park along with building interest in the brand.

While continuing the search for a new boss will be the most pressing matter in his in-tray when he reports for duty as Aberdeen chief executive this morning, there’s no question that reigniting the spark among a muted fanbase is something that needs particular attention at Pittodrie too.

Saturday’s atmosphere inside the ground was hardly helped by a drab 90 minutes delivering only three shots on target between both sides. But the feeling around town with regards to the club seems to be on the slide as well.

Walking up King Street from the city centre, it would have been easy to miss the fact a game was even on. There were no songs, no chants, no flags, no buzz. Flashes of red-and-white poked out from under jackets, there was the occasional toorie in team colours, but it was a far cry from the ebullient mood that filled the streets when Livingston travelled north in Aberdeen’s third home league game of the season and copped a 5-0 tonking.

A peculiar truth, of course, is that there were actually more people inside the stadium for Saturday’s game than that encounter in balmy August. It didn’t feel the same, though. It was flat. Listless. Even the Red Shed didn’t seem as up for it as usual.

Of course, there was some terrible hyperbole about the Dons under Jim Goodwin early in the campaign. Livi were superior for 40 minutes of that five-goal rout before Jack Fitzwater got sent off.

It’s just that the support were desperate to buy into something. And you have to suspect that, no matter how bruising and humiliating Goodwin’s time became in the end, they all want to have something to believe in again.

For now, Aberdeen come across as a club in limbo. Waiting for an outstanding contender to emerge and take them forward.

Club legend Willie Miller was touting Neil Lennon on Saturday. Dons fans don’t seem terribly open to that, though. Interim manager Barry Robson is doing okay and has certainly addressed the team’s porosity, but at Parkhead recently they still lost four and could easily have conceded more.

Robson is respected. He has a background in the academy at a time when Cormack Park has to become more of a conveyor belt. Questions exist over the club maintaining its current wage bill when there is no obvious sign of UEFA millions rolling in — and he’d probably be willing to work in reduced circumstances, too.

Yet, you sense the Dons need an appointment that will excite people, serve as a catalyst for a new era with Burrows in the boardroom and Cormack potentially taking more of a back seat. It’s hard to imagine Robson (below) fulfilling that brief — even if defender Angus MacDonald was more than receptive to the idea of him being kept on for the rest of the season as the club consider their options.

‘I think it would go down really well,’ said MacDonald. ‘I’ve only been here a short spell of time but the lads have taken to him and are working really hard at the training ground.

‘People look up to him. He has a presence. We have to do what he says or you don’t play. There’s a lot of running but performances come with that. If you are fitter than most teams, you can run over the top of them.’

MacDonald insists there is no clamour from within the squad for clarity on the managerial situation: ‘I don’t think it is in the players’ heads. They aren’t bothered who is coming in or whatnot. We work hard for whoever’s in charge.’

The players are a perplexing lot, and decisions will have to be made on whether some should be shunted on in an attempt to find a better blend. To those ends, having a permanent manager in place before summer, if possible, would be ideal.

Burrows will be part of the recruitment process. He had a good relationship with Stephen

Robinson as boss at Motherwell and they enjoyed success. The less said about Ian Baraclough, Mark McGhee, Graham Alexander and Steven Hammell, the better.

Burrows will be conscious of bringing the right man in. He needs to get off on the right foot inside a club capable of creating a decidedly harsh environment for those at the top. There is so much hanging on this next managerial appointment for so many — including Cormack, whose reign has been a bit of a mess so far.

Remarkably, the chairman appeared from his hospital bed on Twitter after hearing how Bojan Miovski’s 17th goal of the season, aided by awful Livi defending, secured three points to take his team into the top six.

MacDonald, who headed an Ayo Obileye effort off the line to help secure the win, insists qualifying for Europe must remain a target. ‘It is a goal for the club and players,’ he said. ‘To say you’ve qualified for Europe is what we’ll aim for.’

Livi have hopes of finishing in the top four or five, too, but will have to end a run that has brought just one goal in six outings. ‘We didn’t cause too many problems for their defence and we should be doing better going forward,’ said midfielder Andrew Shinnie. ‘The cup defeat to Inverness knocked the stuffing out of us. Then, you play Rangers, which is always difficult, so those were two poor results — but there wasn’t much against Aberdeen game. We know we can play better.’

ABERDEEN (4-3-3): Gorter 6; McCrorie 6, MacDonald 8, Pollock 8, MacKenzie 6; Ramadani 6, Clarkson 6, Shinnie 6; Duncan 6 (Hayes 79), Miovski 6 (Watkins 83), Lopes 6 (Coulson 89). Subs not used: Lewis, Markanday, Myslovic, Kennedy, Bavidge, Roberts. Booked: None. LIVINGSTON (4-1-4-1): George 6; Devlin 7, Fitzwater 6, Obileye 6, Penrice 6 (Bahamboula 79); Sean Kelly 5 (Holt 46); Bradley 5 (Boyes 46), Pittman 6, Stephen Kelly 6 (Shinnie 65), Nouble 5; Anderson 5. Subs not used: Hamilton, Longridge, De Lucas, Brandon, Stenhouse. Booked: Devlin, Fitzwater, Shinnie. Man of the match: Angus MacDonald. Referee: David Munro. Attendance: 14,091.