Barry Robson's "period of grace" as Aberdeen manager is running out and he needs a response from his players to spark the club's season to life.

That's the view of former Motherwell skipper turned pundit Stephen Craigan, who told the BBC's Scottish football podcast: “Things will have to change, they will have to turn in a performance.

"I think Barry will get a period of grace, not much longer than what he's had so far.

“He can come in after games and talk about how many shots he had on target, how well they played and chances they created. Aberdeen fans don’t want to hear that any more, they just want to know that their team has won a game of football.

“He finished the season well last season, they’ve ended up in the Europa Conference League this season, so there’s a lot of big games to come.

“They’re playing slight catch-up at the minute, but if you go into those Sunday and Thursday games and you’re still having to dig out performances every three or four days, that is a real challenge.

“Hearts faced that last season so Barry Robson really needs a response from his players now.”