Aberdeen captain Joe Lewis says the 4-1 defeat to Ross County must be left in the past and similar results can’t happen going forward.

The Dons were blown away by the Staggies in Dingwall on a disappointing day for Derek McInnes, a small minority of fans making their feelings known outside Pittodrie over the weekend, calling for the boss’ exit.

Ross County v Aberdeen - Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership

Bad day for Aberdeen. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)

For Lewis, much of the blame lies at the players’ door, insisting this must be a huge lesson learned: “It’s a hugely disappointing result and we expect so much more from ourselves than we saw. Ultimately it comes down to the two penalty boxes.

“They haven’t scored through any incredible pieces of magic, they haven’t stuck it in the top corner from 25 yards, we were just flatfooted at both ends of the pitch, we were waiting for things to happen rather than being proactive and taking it by the scuff of the neck and that’s what happens as a result.

“We were slow to react to things in both boxes across the game. We were a bit flatfooted when the ball came into our box, we didn’t anticipate things well enough at the other end and it made for a very disappointing afternoon. We didn’t make the most of the opportunities we had, and they did, simple as that really.

Ross County v Aberdeen - Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership

Aberdeen’s captain has spoken. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)

“It is hugely disappointing. We didn’t anticipate things well enough. They took a bit of a gamble by leaving three up. It paid off for them in the end. We left ourselves three v three which we shouldn’t have done, we needed to be more disciplined especially early on to make sure that we didn’t leave ourselves exposed at the back.

“When emotions are high after a bad defeat, it isn’t always the best time to say too much, but we’ll reflect on it when we get back into training and make sure that we’re nothing like that again this season because it just wasn’t good enough.”

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