Jim Goodwin is fighting to keep his job less than a year since leaving St Mirren after Aberdeen suffered one of the biggest shock defeats in Scottish Cup history.
The Dons were humiliated in Ayrshire last night, being outplayed by sixth tier Darvel who deservedly sealed a historic 1-0 win at Recreation Park.
There were plenty of former Buddies involved for the WoSFL Premier Division side, with Jordan Kirkpatrick netting the winner and Ian McShane and Ross Caldwell also contributing to the victory that has sent shockwaves through Scottish football. Ex-Saints Thomas Reilly and Andy Stirling also came on as substitutes in the second half.
The defeat has left beleaguered Goodwin, who was already under fire ahead of last night's cup tie, battling to keep his role as Dons boss.
The ex-Saints hero has suffered a dismal run since returning from the World Cup break, including a 3-1 defeat at the SMiSA Stadium on Christmas Eve.
Last week the Pittodrie side suffered a painful 5-0 loss at Tynecastle to third spot rivals Hearts.
And last night's embarrassing loss may well prove too much for the club board to swallow, with Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack watching on in disbelief from the stands.
Speaking to the BBC after the crushing loss, Goodwin said: "I don't want to talk about how bad my team's performance was, I want to congratulate Darvel.
"I thought they were excellent on the night, got their noses in front and defended for their lives. They thoroughly deserved their victory.
"I thought it [Aberdeen's disallowed goal] was onside at the time but we’re clutching at straws when we’re asking for decisions like that.
"We’ve come here as the Premiership team against a team who are many tiers below us and we should've put on a better performance, it’s as simple as that.
"Extremely disappointed, embarrassed, humiliated. All of those things really. We have a bit of assessing to do that’s for sure."
The Buddies travel up to Pittodrie next Wednesday night for a crucial Premiership clash. But it's looking less and less likely that the Paisley side's former boss will still be in charge by that point.
Goodwin moved to Aberdeen from St Mirren last February to replace Stephen Glass. He failed to steer them to back to the top six, with their recent poor form giving the club board a decision to make this week.
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