New manager Jim Goodwin has stressed the positives at Aberdeen after being “blown away” by the levels of professionalism at Pittodrie.
Goodwin replaced Stephen Glass after his predecessor was sacked in the wake of a Scottish Cup defeat by Motherwell.
The former St Mirren manager secured a point at Fir Park hours after being confirmed in his new role last weekend and now looks for his first win when Dundee United are the visitors for his first home match in charge on Saturday.
The Dons have not won a league game in 2022 but Goodwin said: “It is not all doom and gloom. I said to the guys after the game and prior to the game on Saturday, I have not inherited a terrible squad of players or a club that is a shambles behind the scenes.
“There is a lot of positive things happening here. I have been blown away by the level of professionalism since walking through the doors at Cormack Park.
“The staff here are falling over trying to help you and making sure that you have got everything that you need. From that point of view, everything off the park is perfect.
“It is up to me and my staff and the players to make sure we get things right on the park.
“It is not going to happen overnight, all of these things take time and there is a process in place. We don’t want to overload the players with too much information so they can’t understand what we are asking them to do.
“For me, it is about getting back to the basics, it is about hard work on the training ground, it is about showing the fans on Saturday that level of commitment and effort is there first and foremost.
“Added to that we have got some real quality throughout the team. Fingers crossed that it falls into place for the weekend but there are certainly a lot more positives going on here than negatives.”
Aberdeen sit in eighth place in the cinch Premiership and are closer to the bottom than third-placed Hearts, but victory on Saturday could put them in the top six.
“We know where we are, we know the task in hand, we know that the team is at the wrong end of the table,” Goodwin said.
“If we win on Saturday, we are right back up where we want to be in amongst that group that is chasing Europe.
“That is what my ambition is, that is what my hope is for the rest of the season. I don’t think that would be exceeding expectations at all, I think that would be a requirement for a club of this size.”
The Irishman added: “Right now it is a quick fix, it is about those short-term objectives which are to try and maximise the potential of the squad, to try and get as many wins on the board between now and the end of the season and that will hopefully enable us to compete for those European spots, it’s as simple as that.”
