Mats Knoester has admitted Aberdeen need to win back their own supporters after a frustrating run of home results left fans venting their anger at Pittodrie.
The Dutch defender spoke out this week as the Dons faced up to a uncomfortable reality – they have not won a home league game since the opening weekend of the season. For a club with Aberdeen’s ambitions under Jimmy Thelin, that is a stat that stings.
The atmosphere inside Pittodrie has soured as a result. Supporters who turned up in good faith expecting to see their side push on from last season have instead been left watching draws and defeats on their own patch, and the frustration has been plain to see and hear.
Knoester did not shy away from it. He acknowledged that the relationship between the players and the home support has taken a hit, and that the burden is on the squad to fix it.
“We know the fans are not happy and we understand why,” the centre back said. “When you are not winning at home it is difficult for everyone. We need to give them something to cheer about and that starts with performances at Pittodrie.”
It is a significant admission from a player who has been one of Aberdeen’s more consistent performers this season. The fact he is willing to front up and speak honestly about the disconnect between the stands and the pitch suggests there is at least an awareness in the dressing room that something needs to change.
Aberdeen started the league campaign with real promise. The opening day win had supporters dreaming of a genuine title challenge, and Thelin had built genuine excitement around the club after his first season in charge. But home form has been a serious problem since then, and the Dons have been far more convincing on the road than they have been in front of their own fans.
That is a strange dynamic for any club to deal with. Usually home advantage counts for something – the familiarity of the pitch, the backing of the crowd, the comfort of your own surroundings. Aberdeen have managed to flip that on its head, picking up points away from home while repeatedly dropping them at Pittodrie.
The crowd have made their feelings known. There have been audible groans, frustrated chants and a general sense of deflation around the ground on matchdays that would have been unthinkable at the start of the season when optimism was high.
Knoester knows that rebuilding that trust will not happen through words alone. Aberdeen need a home win, and they need it soon. Every game that passes without one adds more pressure and makes the crowd a little harder to win back.
The Dons are still in the mix in the Premiership and have shown they can compete with the best teams in Scotland when they are at their sharpest. But consistency at home has been the missing piece, and until they crack that problem the gap between the team and their supporters is likely to grow.
For Thelin, getting Pittodrie bouncing again has to be a priority. A rocking home crowd can be worth points in itself, but right now that energy is working against Aberdeen rather than for them. Turning that around is one of the bigger challenges facing the club between now and the end of the season.