Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

JIM SPENCE: Successful teams need mental fortitude not frailty and Aberdeen have big questions to answer on that front

Aberdeen collapsed against Rangers. Image: SNS.
Aberdeen collapsed against Rangers. Image: SNS.

A winner’s mentality in the Christmas and New Year fixtures is crucial for the fortunes of all clubs.

In the Premiership, the contrasting fortunes between Dundee United and St Johnstone are stark.

The four games they face in the next two-week period will have a major bearing on whether Saints are serious top six contenders, and whether United can claw themselves free of a relegation battle.

It’s a relentless spell in which that winning mentality will prove to be every bit as important as ability.

Both components are crucial and you can’t have one without the other if you want to achieve success.

For me, the great competitors all have the tough unforgiving mindset of victors.

Aberdeen’s experience in losing to both Celtic and Rangers in a week is a case in point.

Against Celtic, the Dons parked the bus for over 80 minutes and just when it looked like their tactics might work, they were undone by an 87th minute goal.

They then blew a 2-1 lead against Rangers by conceding two cheap goals in the 95th and 97th minutes of the match.

Both results showed different types of mental frailty.

Miller and McLeish

The great Dons’ pairing Miller and McLeish, like Hegarty and Narey at United, were robust in the self-belief department.

They had innate confidence.

If you take a scintilla of doubt on to the pitch or show weakness at any time during a game, strong opponents will smell it like a wolf smells blood.

Great footballers and sports people have mental fortitude in abundance.

Sometimes their haughtiness is classed as arrogance but it’s a vital tool in persuading the opposition that they’re up against an implacable and resolute foe.

Determination in the tackle, never turning your back on a shot when you’re defending, a grim determination to clear the lines without hesitation – all of these characteristics when the legs are weary and begging for rest, and when the brain is fatigued, mark out the top competitors who won’t yield.

Against Celtic, Aberdeen were fearful of venturing forward. That’s a gift to opponents who recognise the fear in their opponents’ minds.

Facing Rangers, trying to hold a narrow lead against the second best side in the country was another sign of self-doubt, and one which was noted then exploited by the Ibrox team which maintained its belief that it could triumph no matter how late the hour.

All managers want players with the right mental attitude in their teams but bosses need it too.

In fact, it should flow from them and infect their team.

McLean mantra

It’s the reason Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean were successful – they demanded perfection.

Jim’s mantra: ‘If you accept mediocrity that’s most certainly what you’ll get’ was spot on.

There should be no acceptance by a manager of players who crack too easily or slacken off when the going gets tough.

Those sort of characters lose points, games, and ultimately cost managers their jobs.

Great training ground players are 10 a penny but on the pitch where it really counts, their weak mentality lets them, their team-mates and supporters down.

Conversation