20 Aberdeen reasons to smash panic button as unforgivable Premiership record sickens a fanbase on the brink

The unpredictable nature of Scottish football can be encapsulated by looking closely into the eyes of Barry Robson in the wake of his side's 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock.

The Aberdeen manager was a picture of unbridled joy when basking in the glow of seven consecutive wins last season. It sparked a late charge to secure third place in the Premiership and guaranteed European group stage football. But the grins have been swapped out for grimaces as the man at the helm is sending out distress signals after only two wins in nine league games. His apology to fed-up fans almost came before the question at Rugby Park as he is hyper aware to growing frustration.

It's a dreary run and it's a third consecutive season where the wheels appear ready to fly off. Yes, the PAOK defeat was tinged with bad fortune over VAR but Robson – as much as any independent observer – pointed to his own players pining for self combustion with slapstick defending as the main reason for their downfall in their Europa Conference League sickener.

But Robson has bigger worries than European heartache as Dons diehards are at the end of their tether with the standard of performance in the Premiership. A rousing 3-1 win away to Rangers can mask only some problems but dreary efforts away to Livingston, St Mirren, Hearts and now Kilmarnock have the regulars gravely concerned.

And that ire was only increased by the revelation of the stat of the day amid their Rugby Park pasting. That is now 20 consecutive Premiership games Aberdeen have lost when conceding the first goal. An utterly bonkers record that stretches back to last season when the Dons, somehow, landed third despite losing an eye-popping 17 times. Jim Goodwin paid with his job and Robson was the