Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin insists that his team must improve their away record if they are to achieve their goals this season.
The Dons sit in third place in the league standings ahead of the return of the Scottish Premiership next week having won six of their seven fixtures on home turf, but the Northern Irishman's team have dropped a number of points on the road. They have been on the end of heavy defeats to the likes of Rangers and Dundee United, and have only been able to keep one clean away clean sheet so far in the campaign.
The Aberdeen boss has been delighted with his side's attacking displays in the first half of the season, and feels that the home crowd have responded well to seeing their team play on the front foot. Speaking to the Press and Journal, he said: "The boys certainly enjoy playing at Pittodrie. That is a really good thing because some players in the past were overawed by the level of expectation from the home fans.
“However, that certainly can’t be labelled at this group. We have won six out of seven games at home in the league and nine out of 10 in all competitions. We are very comfortable playing at home in front of our own fans.
"This season we have scored plenty of goals at Pittodrie and have been entertaining. We have always carried an attacking threat at home."
But Goodwin is also fully aware of his sides struggles on the road this season, and knows that it has to be fixed if they are to achieve their targets come may. He added: "We can’t rely on home form alone to take us where we need to get to.
"However, we have had plenty of time to think about those fixtures and to prepare. We have dropped too many away points and have been a bit too open and expansive on the road at times. We need to rectify that.”
Aberdeen return to action after the break for the World Cup next week with a tricky double-header against Celtic and Rangers at Pittodrie. The Dons then round off the calendar year with trips to St Mirren and Kilmarnock as they try to consolidate third place in the Premiership and also close the gap on Rangers.
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