Our habit of conceding cheaply is becoming a major concern.
After one of the most positive performances at Parkhead in living memory – a narrow defeat that offered plenty to encouragement – it was a different story at home to Aberdeen.
Much of the damage was self-inflicted. Our inability to clear our lines cost us two goals, leaving us with too much to claw back.
In the second half we had Aberdeen under the cosh, but after pulling a goal back we failed to produce anything truly substantial.
It was still the best we’ve played in defeat this season – but we have the worst goal difference in the league and continue to look vulnerable to defensive errors.
We simply cannot afford to be lightweight at the back again – It weighed us down badly last season. We already have half of last season’s total for clean sheets and thus far the defensive aspect of our game has been the main metric in suggesting improvement compared to the previous regime.
While back-to-back defeats are never pleasant, context matters: Aberdeen and Celtic are operating in a completely different space to us. The teams closer to our level are up next in what feels like a season-defining run of fixtures.
Our trip to bottom club Livingston this weekend is huge. Win, and we move seven points clear of them and settle into mid-table. Lose, and they close to within a single point of us.
Our more positive approach in recent weeks is edging this team closer to its latent potential.
If we can unlock another dimension in attack and ensure chances fall to the right players, we will kick on. Reaching that point, though, is the real challenge.
