"I'll keep fighting until told otherwise": Robinson responds after the 4-0 defeat by Hibs drops Aberdeen to 11th
Sunday 8 November 2026 · By Isla MacLeod
There's no point dressing this one up. Aberdeen lost 4–0 at home to Hibs on Saturday, and it was a painful evening at Pittodrie.
The first half was goalless, and Aberdeen had a few decent chances. But Jamie McGrath opened the scoring on 57 minutes, and after that the game slipped away. Callum Wright made it two on 79 minutes, Nicky Cadden scored the third on 87, and Thibault Klidje added a fourth in stoppage time. The BBC, Sky Sports and the SPFL all confirm the score and scorers.
The table makes for hard reading. On the BBC Premiership table, taken at 11:35 GMT this morning, Aberdeen are 11th on 11 points from 12 games. That's the relegation play-off place. Hibs are 10th, also on 11, and ahead on goal difference. Kilmarnock are bottom on nine, but they play Celtic this afternoon.
The BBC says it was Aberdeen's fourth defeat in a row in all competitions.
Stephen Robinson didn't hide from it afterwards. "The performance isn't acceptable, the result isn't acceptable," he told the BBC. He pointed to finishing as the difference: "It's the story of the season - if you don't take chances, you lose matches. They had five opportunities, scored four of them."
Inevitably, the questions turned to his own future. Robinson was clear. "I don't make that decision," he said. "I'm Aberdeen manager until told otherwise, I'll keep fighting until told otherwise." He told the Press and Journal there were no plans at that moment for a meeting about his position.
To be clear, Robinson remains Aberdeen manager. As of this morning, the club has made no announcement about his position. Several pundits on television and radio have said they expect a change or think he should go, and some supporters in the ground chanted against him at the end. Those are opinions. The decision belongs to the club, and we won't speculate on it.
What happens next is up to the board. For now, the focus for the players has to be on getting results, because the gap to the teams around them is small. Motherwell in ninth are only two points ahead, and a couple of wins could change the picture quickly. Robinson said as much himself, telling reporters that wins can change things "very quickly".
The injury situation hasn't helped. Chris Cadden, not to be confused with Hibs' scorer Nicky Cadden, is out for about six weeks with a hamstring injury, and Knoester and Mayo are also out.
After the international break, Aberdeen travel to Kilmarnock on Saturday 21 November. It's already looking like a big game at the bottom. Then they go to Ibrox on Tuesday 24 November at 20:00 GMT, and to Tynecastle on Wednesday 2 December.
The international break comes at a time when everyone at the club needs to regroup. Supporters are understandably frustrated. The players now need to show, starting at Rugby Park, that they can turn this around.
We'll report any official news from the club as soon as there is some.
Pittodrie sits on the edge of Aberdeen, a short walk from the beach and the North Sea, and it has been Aberdeen’s home since 1899. For a visiting supporter it feels compact rather than cavernous. Capacity is 20,866, all seated, and the pitch is about 109 by 72 yards, so you are never far from the play. The ground runs east to west. One goal stands in front of the Merkland Stand at the west, King Street end. The other stands in front of the Richard Donald Stand at the east, the old Beach End. The side stands are the Main Stand on the north and the South Stand on the south.
Away supporters are housed in the eastern part of the South Stand, usually sections P, Q and R, beside the Richard Donald Stand. A normal allocation is around 2,500, and the club can stretch that towards 4,500. You are on the side of the pitch, not behind a goal, looking along the length of the field, with the Richard Donald goal to your right if you face the pitch. Turnstiles are reached from the South Stand walkway. Expect a ticket check before the turnstiles and a search on the way in. Segregation is in place, and stewards cover the divide with the home sections of the same stand.
Coach parties are sent to the west side of the Golf Road car park, next to the Richard Donald Stand, and should not drop passengers on the surrounding streets. There is no general away parking on the stadium footprint, and match-day restrictions apply on nearby streets. Park-and-ride buses run from sites such as Kingswells and Bridge of Don, dropping passengers near the ground and returning after the final whistle. Buses on King Street also stop a short walk away. From Aberdeen station, a bus or taxi covers the last stretch into town.
The Richard Donald Stand, opened in 1993 and named after former chairman Dick Donald, is the newest part of the ground: two tiers, with executive boxes between them. Opposite it, the Merkland Stand is older and lower, with a granite street front and a family area. The Main Stand, across the pitch from you, dates from the 1920s, still has roof pillars, and holds the dressing rooms and the players’ tunnel. Pittodrie is credited as the first British ground to install dugouts. The South Stand was once an open embankment and is now a single-tier cantilever. A corner between it and the Merkland end remains uncovered, so a jacket is worth packing. The television gantry sits in the South Stand.
Kiosks take cash and card. Scottish grounds do not serve alcohol in view of the pitch, and anyone who has had too much to drink can be refused entry. Flags and banners are checked, face coverings are not allowed, and pyrotechnics are prohibited. The Merkland end and the Red Shed supply most of the home noise. The ground is tight enough that even a modest crowd carries. The record attendance, 45,061 against Hearts in the Scottish Cup in 1954, belongs to the terracing era.
Allow time to get in. Queues build on the South Stand walkway, and late arrivals miss the kick-off. After the match, King Street is the simple route back towards town, the beach esplanade is the scenic one, and the park-and-ride pick-up is the sensible one if you used it on the way in. Pittodrie is old, a little weathered, and close to the sea: side-stand seats for visitors, a goal at each end of the plan, and a ground you can read from the concourse.