Aberdeen recovered ever so slightly from their mid-season slump and are back in the hunt for third.
But they still haven’t fully found their their rhythm yet either and yesterday’s stalemate with St Johnstone keeps them a point behind Hibs, who were also held by Kilmarnock.
And Dundee United have the chance to overtake the Dons when they face Dundee in this afternoon’s big derby clash.
It also made it three league games without a win for the Dons, although they did have a Scottish Cup victory over Queen’s Park in there.
Jimmy Thelin admits improvement is needed if they are the to be in third by the end of the season.
Jimmy Thelin wants Aberdeen improvement
After their unbeaten sequence at the start of the season, Aberdeen then went an age without actually winning.
They’ve arrested that slump to a certain degree but still look a long way from the team that took the league by storm at the beginning of the Swede’s reign.
Thelin admits yesterday’s clash could have been so much better but insists his men gave it everything.
Asked if they need to be better, he said: “Yes, for sure. We know it is tight and now we have an important game against Motherwell after the international break. So we have to win, we know that but today we did not have the quality to take the three points.
“Both teams defended well. It was two teams who fought for the three points and it was quite a close game. We tried but today we didn’t have the quality to play through or create that big chance.
“They defended well and we tried to create more but our team didn’t find the rhythm in the attacking last third. We want to step forward but it isn’t always easy.
“The game became a bit static and we needed that opportunity but they defended well and there is another team on the pitch also. We tried but it wasn’t enough to get three points and I thought the result was fair.”
Simo Valakari’s St Johnstone vs Aberdeen view
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari had a similar view on the game, branding it c—– but praising his team for their endeavour.
He said: “It was a fair result. There wasn’t much between two closely matched teams. In some moments it was a c—– game – we made it c—– for them and they made it c—– for us.
“When I say ‘c—– game’ I mean there was heart and soul. When fans see that they are with us.
“It was a positive that we showed we can play these games as well. It was a midfield battle, second balls. But it was a huge effort from my boys.
“We defended very solidly. It was a very strong team performance, defensively. We were much more solid than on Monday night (at Livingston).
“We didn’t create enough to win the match but we made sure we didn’t lose it and we’ll take this one point. Aberdeen have been challenging for the top positions.”