This article is taken from The Dandies, our weekly Aberdeen newsletter by Ally Begg.

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Days on from Aberdeen’s last-gasp loss against St Mirren in Paisley I still find myself still reeling. The heartbreaking manner in which the Dons lost the game while leading up until the 95th minute, a new Scottish Premiership record by the way, continues to be a very bitter pill to swallow. I can’t get it out of my head.

The reality of relegation is now staring us in the face.

Aberdeen have now gone 10 Scottish Premiership games without a win and closing in on tying their longest streak without a league victory. Neil Warnock’s side are only two games away from matching the club record of 12 games which was set 25 years ago. Why has this been allowed to happen?

The team continues to slip from bad to worse, one disaster to the other and unless there is a drastic improvement in results - the unthinkable is thinkable.

Recently, the board commissioned a Germany-based sports consultancy group to give a detailed review of the club’s football operations. It’s my understanding that the report has been completed and is ready to be presented. I hope this report will be made public and it recommends a European style structure be put in place where an experienced director of football works directly above the head coach and is the main link between the head of recruitment and the manager.

Whatever happens, the one vital component that needs to be adhered to is they all need to be singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to their football philosophy. For too long we have dabbled in the art of ‘Moneyball’ which hasn't worked. Let’s get back to scouts actually watching players and reporting back.

READ MORE:  Aberdeen are sleepwalking towards a relegation abyss

Whatever the report recommends, it’s going to be fascinating to see if the board acts and implements change. My major concern remains, has this been left too late?

In the coming weeks, Aberdeen face huge challenges. On Saturday in the Scottish Cup we welcome a Kilmarnock side who cruised to victory against us only two weeks ago. Derek McInnes’ side are unbeaten against us this season, having won three from three and are yet to concede. The task is there for all to see but for Aberdeen to prevail, a sweeping change in confidence and self-belief will be required on the day. The mood in the camp is probably at an all-time low so it’s up to the players themselves as well as the manager to lift the mood and start instilling some sort of resilience.

If this group of players have anything about them, they will spend the best part of this week assessing recent performances, both as individuals and as a team. It’s time they all started facing the reality of the situation they currently find themselves in and react positively. The rot must stop sometime and continuing our cup run could be the perfect tonic, but the players have to show a level of desire, fight and bravery to get us through what will be a very challenging ninety minutes.

Neil Warnock will need to call upon all his experience to lift this set of players and get his tactics right on the day. There has been a significant shift of opinion on the 75-year-old Yorkshireman recently; he now faces a battle to get the fans back on his side. On Saturday against St Mirren, he inexplicably removed our width and set us up to sit in with thirty minutes still to go in the game. Why, when the game was there for the taking? All that achieved was to hand the initiative to St Mirren and give them the freedom to attack.

All concerned need to reassess their contribution to the team, from the players to the manager and his coaching staff. An exercise in boosting morale and lifting spirits will be required this week at Cormack Park. The fans can do their part by supporting the team from the stands and getting right behind them with constant encouragement and creating a healthy atmosphere inside Pittodrie. If they have anything about them, they will get out of trouble and prove themselves worthy of pulling on the red jersey. I wish them nothing but the very best in that endeavour, but like so many of the club's fans, I need convincing that it will actually happen.