Aberdeen

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Aberdeen's Kevin Nisbet has defended fellow striker Toyosi Olusanya, saying he is a player "who doesn't really get the credit he deserves".

The former St Mirren forward has yet to score in 15 appearances since joining on loan from Houston Dynamo in January.

New Dons boss Stephen Robinson, who previously worked with Olusanya in Paisley, is reportedly keen to sign the 28-year-old on a permanent deal this summer.

And Nisbet believes that despite a lack of goals, the Dons have reaped the rewards of Olusanya's presence on the park.

Speaking before Saturday's Premiership visit of Dundee United, he said: "Toyosi is great for me, we work really well.

"He has raw pace and I think like any striker he just needs one to kind of hit off him and go in the top bin and then he will go on a run.

"I think he doesn't really get the credit he deserves, he has got a few people sent off, he has won a few penalties.

"It has just not clicked for him in front of goal but hopefully that is different tomorrow and he can go on a wee run towards the end of the season."

Since his appointment in mid-March, Robinson has started to turn things round at Pittodrie, with the Dons all but safe and looking to extend their three-game unbeaten run this weekend.

"There is a lot more structure, a lot more organisation," said Nisbet. "I think there has been a really good team spirit as well, round the place has been really good and training has been tough but there has been a lot of information.

"It took a few weeks to get going but I think the last few games you can see what kind of team we are.

"We want to play forward quickly, it is not just about hoofing the ball long, it is about moving the opposition to try and get in behind and play to our strengths and get the balls into the box. We have scored a few goals as well which is always good."

Nisbet, who has scored 11 goals this term and has 11 Scotland caps, remains hopeful of making the national squad for this summer's World Cup.

"All I can do is just perform well and score goals then we will just see what happens," he said.

"Of course I am still hopeful, of course I would still love to go, but right now it is just about getting Aberdeen safe and try and win the last few games."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premiership visit of Dundee United.

Here are the key lines:

• A point would secure the Dons' Premiership status, with Robinson saying they want to "finish the season strongly" and are "not out of the woods yet".

• Aberdeen could even be safe with a defeat - depending on the outcome of St Mirren v Kilmarnock - but Robinson insists "we can only concentrate on ourselves".

• His side want to build on their three-game unbeaten run and keep momentum: "I think there have been signs of improvement, we know it is not the finished article."

• He rejected the notion United don't have anything to play for, saying Jim Goodwin's men will be right up for the game.

• Robinson's response was "yes" when asked if he has decided which players he wants to keep and move on in the summer. He adds: "The problems we have had this season won't be fixed in one window."

• On how close he is to lining up new signings: "I have really concentrated on making sure we get out of the trouble that we are in."

• Robinson admits the balance of the squad "isn't right" at the moment, adding in jest: "We have good people at the football club that have put about 500 names in front of me every day."

• The Dons boss praised loan striker Toyosi Olusanya's contribution: "He has come up here and given the team something they didn't have before." While Olusanya "needs a goal", Robinson insists he has "complemented Kevin [Nisbet] very well".

• Team news: After nearly three months out Nicky Devlin could return. Emmanuel Gyamfi is available but Alexander Jensen is a doubt.

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• Aberdeen have lost just one of their past 17 home league games against Dundee United (W8 D8) and are unbeaten in nine (W5 D4) since a 3-0 defeat in August 2014.

• United are unbeaten in six league meetings with Aberdeen (W3 D3) since losing 1-0 in October 2024.

• Aberdeen have picked up more points in their past three league games (7 – W2 D1) than in their previous 16 beforehand (6 – W1 D3 L12). At home, the Dons are looking to win three successive league games without conceding for the first time since a run of four from February to April 2023.

• United have lost their past two away league games, last losing three in a row on the road in the Premiership in May 2023.

• Only Hearts (22) and Rangers (21) have scored more goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties) than United (19) in the Premiership this season, while Aberdeen are the division's lowest scorers from such scenarios (eight). Meanwhile, only Livingston (21) have conceded more goals from non-penalty set-plays than the Dons (19).

Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson is looking to forge a cooperation agreement with Arbroath for next season following 20-year-old midfielder Findlay Marshall's successful loan at Gayfield this season. (Daily Record), external

Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson has praised Findlay Marshall for battling to earn a new contract after being told by previous boss Jimmy Thelin to find a new club and being sent on loan to Arbroath. (Press & Journal), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

It would take a remarkable set of results for Aberdeen to be dragged into the play-off mire now despite dropping two points at relegated Livingston last Friday.

With Kilmarnock visiting St Mirren on Saturday, having finally leapfrogged the Paisley side to clamber out of the trap door, something will have to give there.

That all means the 37 points the Dons have scrambled would likely be enough even if they were to collect nothing between now and the end of the season.

And the campaign's conclusion cannot come quickly enough for head coach Stephen Robinson, who is going to make a host of changes to the squad in the summer.

When speaking with the Dons' boss pre-match at Almondvale, it was interesting to hear him say he is starting players he believes are capable of playing their part in a battle, having been in the door for nearly two months now.

He will know who he wants to keep, and who he doesn't, and one of those he will have earmarked for a big future will be left-back Mitchel Frame, who scored his first senior goal in West Lothian.

It may be a match that has a short life in the memory bank for those who played in it - or watched it - but it is a moment Frame will always remember for that reason alone.

The Dons' apparent interest in outgoing Hibernian forward Martin Boyle is of no surprise.

They've toyed with the idea of bringing him back to his hometown before and, although he is now in the latter stage of his career, he more than likely scores with the chance Toyosi Olusanya fired past the corner flag during the first half against Livi.

Boyle has options in further flung places than the north-east of Scotland, but it could be it suits the Australia international personally after having a role to play for his adopted country at this summer's World Cup.

Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson wants to sign on-loan striker Toyosi Olusanya on a permanent basis, with the 28-year-old out of contract with Houston Dynamo this summer but with the Major League Soccer club having an option to extend it for another year. (Daily Record), external

Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson says some of his summer signings "won't be sexy" but will be granite solid in delivering seven or eight out of 10 performances in every game. (Press & Journal), external

Inverness Caledonian Thistle are keen to retain striker Alfie Stewart with the 19-year-old on-loan striker's contract with Aberdeen not being renewed. (Press & Journal), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

On paper, a 2-2 draw for Aberdeen at the now-relegated Livingston will be disappointing for many, as will the manner in which we conceded the goals.

However, it is now three games unbeaten, and we have back-to-back fixtures at home, where we remain unbeaten under Stephen Robinson, to come.

Look, yes, I am searching for small positives in an otherwise forgettable season, but these last few games provide a building block for confidence, momentum and belief as we prepare for another summer squad rebuild.

It is imperative that the club give the fans something to cling on to before we head into the off-season and the revolving doors at Cormack Park are put into overdrive, with departures expected in equal measure to incomings.

Will fringe players be afforded the opportunity to impress as Dundee United come to town in a game that will go some way to deciding who claims the 'best of the bottom six' title?

It is certainly a title neither side will have set their sights on back in August.

Three more games to go and then we can confine this season to the history books for good. We are nearly there, Red Army.

Glen Schreuder can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external

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Aberdeen are exploring a deal for Martin Boyle, 33, who will leave Hibernian in the summer once his contract expires. (Sky Sports on X), external

Aberdeen fans, we asked for your views on Friday night's 2-2 draw against Livingston.

Here are some of your comments:

Chris: To be perfectly honest after last night my worry is Stephen Robinson and his team selection. As time passes my real fear is who Robinson will show the door and who will come in. We are not St Mirren and, with all due respect, don't want to become them. We need players who want to play for the club like Graeme Shinnie and Topi Keskinen - they want to play for the Dons we just need nine more.

John: Livingston deserved their draw but a lot of positives for Aberdeen. Dennis Geiger and Mitchel Frame created most of the pressure during the first half and Kevin Nisbet seems to be finally displaying enthusiasm. Not safe yet, every game is vital.

Malky: The first half is how we'd all like to see our Aberdeen team playing. We passed up so many good opportunities though and as is mostly the case in football, it comes back to bite you. The second half shows that weakness still exists in the squad and a few of these players just aren't cut out for Aberdeen. I don't like singling people out but Alex Jensen is a complete liability, players like him must be moved on.

Andy: The first half we looked like a proper footballing side but in the second half it was the same old jitters. The Dons simply can't deal with a side, any side, coming at them. Need more cool heads in the middle of the park. Livi certainly deserved the draw.

Jim: Yet another insufficient performance, yet another game where we should have been out of sight by half-time but we drop two points. And the head coach's words are sounding a lot like Jimmy Thelin's. Excuses, excuses.

Stuart: A point's a point but it really should have been three. Credit to Livingston, they came out all guns blazing in the second half.

Head coach Stephen Robinson states no Aberdeen player is guaranteed a place in his squad next term. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external

Saturday's Scottish gossip

Watch the goals as Livingston twice come back to draw with Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership (UK users only).

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson: "We were very good in the first half. We should have been out of sight. We had three great chances, with Dennis [Geiger], Stuart [Armstrong] and Toyosi [Olusanya].

"Livingston have a great record here, they've only lost two from nine, drawn with Hearts and Rangers. You know they're going to throw balls into your box. We've got done from a set play, which has happened all season.

"But we responded to that. Kevin [Nisbet] scored a great goal. We made poor decisions leading up to their second goal, naive decisions.

"There's positives. The fact we didn't hold on for three points which is the disappointing thing.

"We did a lot of good things, there's a lot of good performances there. But you know you're up against some really big boys and we don't have that, don't have the physicality.

"We gave away too many free-kicks and put ourselves under pressure. But it's another game unbeaten.

"Until it's mathematically certain, you take nothing for granted. Nothing surprises me in football anymore. But people are playing for their future here. Everyone has to want to be part of this going forward."

Bottom side Livingston could be relegated on Saturday, despite coming back twice to draw with Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.

Read the match report here.

Let us know your thoughts.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Liam Morrison is open-minded about what the future holds but believes Aberdeen fans are now seeing the best of him after a "tough" start to his Pittodrie career.

The 23-year-old defender arrived on loan from Queens Park Rangers in January but hadn't played in over a month when he started his first game for the Dons.

Morrison has since become a mainstay and is set for his sixth consecutive start in Friday night's trip to face Livingston.

"In the beginning it was tough, I am not going to hide away from that," he said.

"I was coming back from an injury, I hadn't played in a while, it was a new league. But I think over the past three or four games I have done pretty well. I am feeling great now.

"That is part and parcel of football, it is not always going to be rosy, you are going to have tough times and you just need to get through them and show how strong you can be.

"I think as a whole the team has done that because a lot of people were doubting us and writing us off and we have come through it."

Head coach Stephen Robinson has confirmed Aberdeen are exploring the possibility of bringing Morrison back to the club for next season.

"To be honest I have not given it any thought," Morrison said when asked about his future.

"My full focus is just finishing this season off as strongly as possible and we can take it from there in the summer."

In the past two games Aberdeen have picked up back-to-back league wins for the first time since December and kept successive league clean sheets for the first time since November.

The centre-back feels a corner has been turned.

"Yes, it definitely does," Morrison added.

"There is a real togetherness in the camp because a lot of people had written us off and were expecting us to be down there in that 11th position.

"We have showed what we can do over the past couple of weeks. We just need to keep building on that and finish the season strongly.

"When you are winning it is the best sport in the world, but when you are losing it is the worst."

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Livingston forward Jeremy Bokila has returned to training but Connor McLennan (ankle) is still out.

Aberdeen could have Emmanuel Gyamfi back from concussion while Jack Milne has shrugged off a head knock.

Nicky Devlin will return to full training next week while Kristers Tobers (knee) and Nick Suman (ankle) remain out.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson has praised his players for delivering positive results after having their character called into question.

When Robinson took charge last month the Dons were embroiled in the relegation battle and his tenure began with a three-game winless run.

Subsequent back-to-back victories - and clean sheets - against Hibernian and Kilmarnock have all but made Aberdeen safe as they have an eight-point cushion over second-bottom Kilmarnock with four games to go.

But Robinson, who takes his side to bottom club Livingston on Friday night, is taking nothing for granted.

"I think before I came in people questioned the character of the team," the former St Mirren boss said.

"It was questioned week in, week out. What they have shown is under an intense amount of pressure they can rise to that.

"We know we didn't play to the level we wanted to last week [in the 1-0 win against Killie] but you could feel the nervous energy. What we have done is be able to handle that, you have to grind results out at times and we have ground the two results out in different ways.

"There has been a real positivity around the camp. The players are playing under a lot of pressure so hopefully that has eased a little bit but we're still certainly not 100% safe.

"Whether we are safe or not we have still got work to do and until we are mathematically safe then nobody will be dropping any kind of standards here at the football club.

"My remit was make sure we are not in a relegation battle, we have still to confirm we are not so until we do that we won't be resting on our laurels."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Friday night's trip to Livingston.

Here are the main points:

• After back-to-back victories and clean sheets, Robinson says "winning breeds confidence" and there is a real positivity around the group.

• Despite being eight points above Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot, Robinson admits "we have still got work to do" to banish any concerns about their Premiership status.

• Robinson praised his players for handling the pressure and rising to the challenge of a relegation battle after having their character called into question.

• The Dons boss is keen to explore extending on-loan QPR defender Liam Morrison's stay beyond the summer and says: "When I first came up there were a lot of people doubting Liam, he is now showing what a good player he is."

• On giving fringe men a chance in the remaining games, Robinson admits: "There are players I haven't given an opportunity to due to the system, the wide players so, it would be very good to see those players on the pitch before I make decisions but first and foremost we get to that level of safety and then I can do that."

• On Livingston, the former St Mirren manager is expecting a tough game against "a team playing with freedom" which makes them even more dangerous and adds "they are not losing games by a lot".

• Team news: Emmanuel Gyamfi will be assessed and could return.

Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson is ready to give frozen out Australian winger Nicolas Milanovic a chance to impress. (Press and Journal), external

Read Thursday's Scottish football gossip

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• Livingston are winless in their past eight league meetings with Aberdeen (D3 L5) since a 2-1 victory in November 2022.

• Aberdeen have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three league visits to Livingston; the Dons last kept four consecutive away league clean sheets against an opponent from August 2020 to December 2021 versus St Johnstone.

• Livingston picked up their first win in 32 league games against St Mirren last time out (D12 L19); they last won back-to-back matches in the Scottish Premiership in January 2023.

• Aberdeen have won 13 of their past 14 league matches played on a Friday; the only exception was a 3-1 defeat at home to Celtic in May 2017. Away from home, the Dons have won each of their past six Friday matches in the Scottish Premiership by an aggregate score of 15-2.

• Kevin Nisbet needs one more goal to become the first Scottish player to score 10+ league goals in back-to-back seasons for Aberdeen since Lee Miller in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Stephen Robinson would have absolutely loved a scintillating performance to go along with the crucial three points collected for beating Kilmarnock, but the bottom line was the latter was far more important than the former.

While not arithmetically out of the woods, Aberdeen are all but safe from the prospect of dropping as low as 11th after Afeez Aremu's goal in the opening minute chiselled out an eight-point lead over Killie with a goal difference advantage of 15 on top of that.

There's no doubt Killie deserved to take at least a point from the match, but Aberdeen held out to record back-to-back Premiership wins for the first time since December; at Pittodrie for the first time this season; and two league clean sheets on the bounce for the first time since November.

They hadn't even kept two Premiership home clean sheets in a row for nearly two years. Small steps.

The Dons' unbroken top-flight status can be extended officially if they beat doomed Livingston on Friday night and Killie go on to drop points to Dundee United on Saturday. Dave Cormack, his board, and Robinson can then set about rebuilding the football operation.

The manager spoke after the game about people outside the Aberdeen support being excited at the prospect of the club's demise, and there is truth in that from elsewhere in the country.

A siege mentality isn't the worst disposition when you are in a one-club city with rivals getting the popcorn in.

There was much amazement on Saturday afternoon's Sportsound that Mats Knoester - out since January - had been named player of the year by the Dons at last week's dinner, but it simply underlines the paucity of candidates aside from the Dutchman, whose absence has been apparent throughout his more than three months on the sidelines.

Robinson will be delighted to be able to call upon his services for the final weeks of what's been a tortuous season. However, the nuclear twist of a nerve-shredding play-off looks to have been vanquished.

Aberdeen should move to extend the loan deal of defender Liam Morrison from Queens Park Rangers, saying Pittodrie legend Willie Miller. (Press & Journal - subscription required), external

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

How quickly things can change. A few weeks ago I was fearing the worst for Aberdeen.

Now, after back-to-back league wins for the first time since December, we are all but guaranteed Premiership survival.

I am sure Stephen Robinson will be looking to continue the positive narrative of the past couple of weeks as we head into the final four fixtures, starting on Friday night at Livingston.

Building momentum with further wins will undoubtedly breed confidence and belief before a huge summer rebuild.

Let's not beat around the bush, though. The performance against Kilmarnock still left a lot to be desired, but we have been saying that for a long time. However, the players showed character that has been lacking for long chunks of the season.

Not only is it successive wins, it's back-to-back clean sheets for a defence that has struggled this season. Another positive and shot of belief the Red Army can hold on to heading into the summer.

Again we looked composed, confident and competent. Okay, that may have largely lasted the first 20 minutes, but Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will the Robinson empire. The real building work is only four weeks away.

Glen Schreuder can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external