Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis admits they do not look like a team that are going to seize the chance of a top-six place.
The Pittodrie club captain says they need to produce more hard work and energy in the four games before the split.
The Dons fell to 10th place in the cinch Premiership after a 2-0 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday to leave Jim Goodwin with two points from his opening three matches and the team without a win in nine games.
“It’s absolutely not where Aberdeen should be,” Lewis said. “Going higher up in the table is there for a team who wants to grab it, but right now we are not really looking like a team who are going to do that.
“We have to show resilience and fight. The manager is not asking for miracles from anyone. He’s asking for hard work and athleticism and to put ourselves about. There wasn’t enough of that.
“We certainly need to show more energy and willingness to run and tackle regardless of whether anyone is feeling confident or not.
“That’s non-negotiable really and it’s something that we need to inject in our game and show more fight.
“It was difficult against Hearts because they are a good side. But we need to move forward and find that spark from somewhere.”
The Dons are three points off the top half and their next chance to turn their season around comes at Ibrox against Rangers, against whom they have drawn twice this season.
“It needs to be a spark,” Lewis said. “We have had decent performances against Rangers this season and we need to replicate those performances and show a lot more than we did against Hearts.
“The games will run out soon but the league is condensed and there is an opportunity for someone to go out and grab it and go on a run. We need to show the willingness to go on a run.”
