Mawene: We held inquest straight after humbling by Hearts

[mizer]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/aberdeen/2011/08/15/abrdeen-defender-youl-mawene-we-held-inquest-straight-after-humbling-by-hearts-86908-23345959/

 

YOUL MAWENE last night confessed angry Aberdeen held an instant inquest into the desperate Tynecastle defeat that has triggered alarm bells around Pittodrie.

 

The French defender was among a host of sinners as the Dons' latest disaster left them without a win or a goal from their first four games of the new SPL season.

Youl Mawene

 

Craig Brown's side were toothless in attack and dismal in defence as their awful start to the league campaign continued in the capital.

 

Dejected Dons fans were making their way for the Roseburn Stand exits long before the final whistle and Mawene revealed harsh words were later exchanged in the visiting dressing-room.

 

It's far too early to be making judgments on the respective long-term outlook for teams. But Mawene knows Aberdeen are in for a long, hard season unless they get themselves sorted out.

 

Brown and No.2 Archie Knox sat motionless for most of the 90 minutes and it was hard to ignore the irony of the fact they also sat deep in thought watching a 5-0 Tynecastle shambles just 24 hours after they were appointed last year.

 

There will be plenty of Aberdeen fans who'll argue things are no better than they were when Mark McGhee was booted. But Mawene insists his colleagues are determined to turn things around.

 

The 32-year-old took his full share of the blame for the flop and said: "There have been a few words said because we all hurt at that kind of defeat. We've got to take it as men.

 

"It's not all about pretty football and passing, it's about winning games.

 

"Whether it's ugly or not you've got to get three points and that's the bottom line.

 

"I'm not sure if confidence is dented. We've got good lads here and sometimes we need to tell the truth to each other.

 

"At the minute, we've got a lot of things we can improve on.

 

"We thought we were a lot more solid than that but that was a massive blow for us at the back and we have to go back to the drawing board."

 

The Jambos could hardly believe their luck. Having lost his opening game to Motherwell, Gorgie gaffer Paulo Sergio wanted to make an SPL impact on the fans like he did in the 4-1 Europa League win over Paksi.

 

Aberdeen had threatened to make things difficult and Icelandic kid Kari Arnason hit the bar early with a header from a Rob Milsom corner.

 

It was reasonably encouraging but the moment Mawene and his backline were asked a serious question they fell apart. Danny Grainger's hopeful cross wasn't dealt with and Lithuanian Arvydas Novikovas rifled the opener.

 

Next time they were tested, same result. Rory McArdle couldn't cope with a David Templeton surge and the Hearts man's low cross was bundled in by John Sutton.

 

Having regrouped after the break, Aberdeen wanted to stage a fightback but at the first hint of trouble, the defence went missing again and Sutton sauntered into the box to seal the points.

 

The irritating part for Brown is that some of his young players looked decent, with Milsom and Arnason reasonable in the midfield and Isaac Osbourne scrapping for every ball.

 

But Darren Mackie, Scott Vernon and Josh Magennis never looked like scoring and the backline crumbled like a house of cards.

 

Brown, of course, has been through plenty in his career and he'll feel there's lots he can improve on the training pitch.

 

But he and Knox also know they built the foundations of their success at Motherwell on a rock-solid defence and that needs to be sorted pronto.

 

Brown defiantly backed his team and said: "The scoreline is a distortion because I don't think Hearts missed a chance and we must have missed five.

 

"We hit the bar and had a good chance before they scored. Even after that we had one or two.

 

"We're taking an extra touch when we should be putting shots on goal.

 

"I wasn't too displeased with the chances we created but we're failing to score and that's a critical situation.

 

"I didn't think we could continue in that vein. It looks as though we'll need to do something about the finishing.

 

"But I have got faith in the guys we've got and I don't think it's a misplaced faith."

 

Fraser Fyvie missed a good chance at 3-0 but the horse had long bolted in the direction of Musselburgh Racecourse and Mawene was less tactful over the performance.

 

He added: "We made a bright start and just came unstuck and lost a bit of our discipline.

 

"It's a massive blow but we have to take it on the chin and bounce back.

 

"We know that once we go a goal down it's going to be hard when we're creating chances and not taking them. But the defence is also responsible.

 

"There's no point blaming people because we need to get better as a team. That wasn't good enough due to the softness of the goals we lost.

 

"To give our strikers a chance we need to keep clean sheets. We didn't do that so we have to look at ourselves and keep working hard.

 

"Scoring is one thing and defending is another. We did neither."

 

Talented young players such as Fyvie, Ryan Jack and Peter Pawlett need guidance and Mawene admits he and the experienced boys need to assume the role.

 

He added: "As an older player, I've got to look and see how I can help them to make sure they have freedom and confidence."

 

Mercifully, the Dons have 34 more SPL games to sort their ills but Mawene is honest enough to know the warnings signs are flashing loud and red.

 

He said: "It's a tight league and it's about winning. At the moment we're struggling to do that.

 

"It's early days, but it's a big warning for us."

[BigAl]

What will the learning be from this supposed inquest then 

I'm not overly hopeful that there will be any tangible ones, but hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Moving onto Brown and Knox, they simply can't continue to trot out excuse after excuse.

Is it time to start getting angry in an attepmt to get a reaction from the playing staff, or is this mediocrity and malaise that has surrounded our once famous club going to be allowed to continue unabaited ? Is it any wonder that crowds continue to dwindle game after game. 1800 odd dons fans showed blind faith in them on Saturday. Blind faith only lasts so long.

 

I for one am getting severely pissed off with matters.

The prospect of playing a game of golf on a Saturday afternoon (even badly) is far more appealing than sitting through this shite on a regular basis.

[dj_bollocks]

Who was found guilty and will there be a public stoning ?

[octavion]

Who was found guilty and will there be a public stoning ?

 

+1 

[Millertime]

Who was found guilty and will there be a public stoning ?

 

mawene looks fucking stoned on the park

[Ptayles]

How many times have we heard the same thing before?...