'Payback time': Stephen Robinson reads Aberdeen riot act in blistering truth bomb after Rangers defeat

The ninth-placed Dons are just three points above the relegation play-off after Kilmarnock and St Mirren both won earlier in the day and manager Robinson, presiding over his second match since being appointed, admitted he read the riot act to his players afterwards.

He lamented the defending for three of Rangers’ goals and while he believes the squad has the quality to keep the club away from the drop zone, he issued a stark warning that performance levels must improve.

"I told them the truth,” said Robinson of his post-match address to the players. “I told them a few home truths. Maybe if that had been done six, seven months ago, people would have stepped up. But I told them the truth tonight.

“They accepted that. There was no issue with it. They had no choice but to accept it because the facts are we're in a scrap. Do I believe we've got the players to stand up to that? Yes, I do. We need to do that quickly and first and foremost stop conceding goals like that. Rangers didn't have to work. We'd been containing them for 30-odd minutes. The crowd were starting to turn a little bit and the goals aren't good enough.

"Every game now is huge. Every game between now and the end of the season is a cup final. I've made that very, very clear - if it wasn't clear already. The fight and the desire that's needed to make sure we're avoiding that, to then rebuild for next season, which is quite obvious, is what we need. There has to be a pride. Aberdeen Football Club has been very good to a lot of these players. It's payback time now and I believe we'll get that.”

Robinson expects a lot of hard work between now and their next match against St Mirren on April 4, which comes after a two-week international break.

"They're not horses,” he continued. “You can't work them every single day of the week, unfortunately. Or I probably would. A lot of players are on international duty. That's not conducive to working together, but every club has that problem. Certainly they'll work.”