Aberdeen’s top-flight status is at serious risk if this managerial debacle doesn’t get sorted out

The task of trying to defend the Scottish Cup was Aberdeen’s last hope of salvaging a truly dreadful season.

That went up in smoke when they were hammered 3-0 by Dunfermline at East End Park, with interim boss Peter Leven branding the performance ‘atrocious’ and ‘unacceptable’.

It always looked like being a tricky tie. Especially given the Dons’ woeful run of form and the sense of malaise that continues to cripple the club.

But the manner of their performance was a disgrace. The players have basically downed tools, and they got their backsides handed to them by Championship opposition.

One of the pundits working on the game mentioned that this could be ‘rock bottom’ for the Pittodrie outfit. It’s not. There’s no telling how bad this could actually become.

The club are muddling along with Leven in charge, even though it’s patently obvious his relationship with many of the players has broken down.

It’s now over two months since they sacked Jimmy Thelin – and the complete lack of urgency in appointing a new manager is deeply alarming.

Chairman Dave Cormack gave an update last week in which he made it clear the club won’t be rushed into anything.

He needs to wake up. As a club, Aberdeen are in absolute freefall – and they are plummeting towards relegation trouble.

They are only eight points ahead of Kilmarnock in the play-off spot. With nine games still to play, that gap could easily be wiped out.

Cormack’s record in terms of appointing managers is awful. No matter the money he’s pumped into the club, he can’t be trusted to run the football side of the business.

That’s where sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and chief executive Alan Burrows come into things. Cormack obviously trusts them with the day-to-day stuff and the football department.

But, ultimately, Cormack is the chairman. He calls the shots. Aberdeen simply can’t afford to wait until the summer to appoint a new manager.

The club’s top-flight status will be at risk if this debacle carries on much longer.