CALUM CROWE: Stephen Robinson waited patiently for his shot at the big time but he's failing to deliver the goods at Aberdeen

Even accounting for much of the dross that has been served up by Stephen Robinson during his time in charge of Aberdeen, last weekend felt like a new low.

An insipid 1-0 home defeat to a newly promoted St Johnstone side saw Aberdeen plumb new depths in a season which, beyond a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers, already looks like a write-off.

The Dons are eighth in the table, just two points clear of relegation trouble. They have one win in their last seven games in all competitions.

They are yet to score a single goal from open play at Pittodrie in the league this season. There is a glaring lack of creativity in the team.

No wonder fans are so disillusioned by what they are watching every week. On the radio last weekend, Aberdeen legend Willie Miller described the performance as ‘depressing’.

Punters are rapidly switching off. There is no energy, excitement or entertainment to be found in watching Robinson’s team. They are brutal, plain and simple.

Stephen Robinson is struggling as Aberdeen manager, with his side eighth in the Premiership

Findlay Marshall shows his frustration as the Dons slumped to defeat at home to St Johnstone

It is certainly a far cry from the fast, attacking football that Robinson vowed to deliver when he took charge back in March last season.

None of this is to say this is all on Robinson. That would be too simplistic and naive. The problems at Aberdeen extend far beyond one single manager.

The fact they have burned through so many of them in recent years makes that clear. But, ultimately, the buck stops at his door.

Robinson is the one who will carry the can. His team are not performing and fans are fed up hearing his excuses about how the players looked good in training.

Eventually, we will reach the point where he becomes the latest managerial casualty at this binfire of a club who have lurched from one disaster to another under Dave Cormack.

The Scottish Cup win under Jimmy Thelin was a total anomaly. A glorious anomaly, granted. But an anomaly all the same.

Robinson waited years for a crack at a big job. Almost every season, he would be touted for the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts or Hibs at some point.

His body of work with St Mirren was excellent, no question. Consistent top-six finishes, qualification for Europe and silverware by winning the Premier Sports Cup last December. All terrific.

He has earned his stripes and earned his chance at a big club. Yet, when the opportunity finally came along, he’s not been up to it.

Working at a club like Aberdeen is a whole different ball game than being manager of the likes of St Mirren and Motherwell, Robinson’s two previous clubs in Scotland.

If you lose two or three games at those clubs, it’s no big deal. You dust yourself down and you eventually get things going again.

Josh Fowler's penalty was the only goal of the game as the Perth Saints beat Aberdeen

Aberdeen brings pressure. The demands are totally different. And, right now, Robinson does not look capable of satisfying those demands from a fanbase who never really took to him right from the outset.

He arrived at Pittodrie with the distinct impression that he was Alan Burrows’ man. It was an emergency SOS-type appointment intended to stave off the threat of relegation last season.

This, of course, was after the club spent weeks dithering and wasting time on the back of Thelin finally being relieved of his duties.

Burrows and Robinson worked together at Motherwell and, eventually, Aberdeen got their act together last season to pull clear of danger.

But the landscape has changed now. Burrows is no longer chief executive, having stepped down recently due to personal reasons.

If this death spiral continues, Robinson doesn’t have his main ally there to fight his corner if the suggestion of changing manager ever crops up in a board meeting.

It is Adrian Bevington who has now taken over as the club’s new chief executive and he brings with him a wealth of experience from the FA and other top jobs in England.

It was widely regarded as a coup for Aberdeen to get Bevington. Given his reputation, he will not have arrived at Pittodrie merely to steady the ship or maintain a status quo.

He will have his own plans, his own ideas about how things should be done. And, you suspect, his own views on who the manager should be and what style of football the club should be looking to play.

In a couple of interviews so far, Bevington has been diplomatic and supportive of Robinson. But he cannot be impressed by what he’s watching. It’s awful.

This was supposed to be Robinson’s big chance, an opportunity to finally step up and show he has what it takes to manage a top club in Scotland.

But he looks – and sounds – out of his depth. All of the attacking metrics – goals, shots, XG – point to Aberdeen being a desperately poor football team.

Kevin Nisbet is carrying the goal threat almost single-handedly. Beyond Nisbet, the attacking unit is stuttering.

Wingers are being told they need to deliver more end product. Training-ground promise is not translating. The same lines trotted out every week. It is wearying.

Right now, the jump from St Mirren to Aberdeen looks only to have highlighted his limitations as a manager, rather than offering any affirmation of his ability to make a success of this.

Robinson looks on aghast in the dugout in the 1-0 home defeat to St Johnstone

It looked like Aberdeen had possibly turned a corner when they won 4-0 away at Motherwell before the international break.

But the performance and result against St Johnstone last Sunday sent them crashing back to square one. Up next is a visit of Robinson’s old club St Mirren this weekend.

If the Buddies were to go to Pittodrie and win, how ironic that it could well signal the end for Robinson in the Granite City.

After playing St Mirren, Aberdeen are then away to Dundee United, home to Falkirk, and then have the small matter of a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden.

Four of the next five league games were meant to be the platform for a climb up the table. Instead, they now look like a potential trapdoor.

Failure to take all three points against St Mirren and the atmosphere at Pittodrie will turn toxic fast. Quite simply, fans are fed up and have had enough.

A chief executive with Bevington’s experience will surely know the difference between a temporary blip and a structural problem.

He will also know that results drive everything else – commercial growth, stadium plans, credibility, European qualification.

If the team is still scrapping around the lower half of the league by the time the next international break comes around in a few weeks, Robinson’s position will be under serious threat.

No amount of boardroom diplomacy can paper over a team that cannot score goals or win home games against the likes of St Johnstone.

Aberdeen supporters have every right to demand better. This is a club with history, ambition and a fanbase that turns up even when the product has been mediocre for far too long.

Robinson waited years for this opportunity. He earned it. The tragedy would be if it ends up defining him for the wrong reasons.