Neil Warnock takes Shayden Morris out of Aberdeen firing line as boss reveals moment he 'really felt' for winger

Neil Warnock has revealed he has taken the decision to take Shayden Morris out of the Aberdeen firing line.

The winger hasn’t been involved, under Warnock, since he was hooked 30 minutes into the Motherwell game when the Dons were 3-0 down and then came back to salvage a draw. Morris got a hard time from the Red Army that evening for his defensive display although, in fairness, he was taken to Pittodrie as a winger.

Struggling Aberdeen have still to win a league game under Warnock but he hopes he can kick start their season in the cup with a Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Kilmarnock this weekend. Warnock confirmed: “I really felt for Shayden that day so I haven’t felt it right to bring him back into the squad at the minute. I’ve made that decision and have spoken to him. He’ll come back but right now I’ve got to worry about the team.”

Aberdeen’s season under Warnock has gone into free fall, apart from a cup victory over Bonnyrigg Rose. The veteran has failed to win in six league games and the Dons are plunging every closer to the relegation play-off spot. There have been major defensive collapses that have frustratedly tripped up Aberdeen in Warnock’s time. It has been individual errors but he hopes having a free week to concentrate on the game, without any midweek fixtures, will give him the opportunity to install a defensive stability into his team. Aberdeen haven’t beaten Killie this season but this would be the perfect time to do it, with a Scottish Cup semi-final place up for grabs.

Warnock said: “We have a free midweek this week and that’s going to be important because we’ve not had too many of them. We have a system to work on the shape of the defensive side but you need time to do it.

“The way it is, you