They may not have picked up all three points at the weekend but Aberdenn still have European ambitions.

Aberdeen's Sone Aluko believes his side can still be competitive in the race for third spot at the end of the season despite dropping two points against Kilmarnock on Saturday. The dull goalless draw with Killie at Pittodrie took the Dons a point closer to fourth-placed Dundee United who lost to current holders of their place, Hearts, who are an additional five points ahead. The Dons have now gone five games without a win in the league but Aluko believes his side are still in the running to finish third. He said: "I wouldn't say the draw with Kilmarnock is a massive setback. We have dropped two points but there are still 11 games left and time for us to make up for that. We aren't too downhearted about it. We gave 100% against Kilmarnock but it just didn't happen for us. We haven't been performing badly but things just haven't been going our way. But we have to be looking to pick up maximum points in every game from now on. If Hearts or Dundee United slip up we need to be right behind them."

The Pittodrie pitch came in for criticism from both managers after the game and Aluko believes it may be an advantage for the Dons that only one of their next five games are due to be played on the surface. He said: "Hopefully that will give the pitch time to recover. The pitch is cutting up a lot, which makes it hard to play quick, slick football. It is the same for both teams but it is a hindrance if you are trying to play good football. Maybe the other teams have better surfaces than we do at the moment and that could help us."

Kilmarnock boss Jim Jefferies was pleased to see his side gain a point and wants to build some momentum on the back of the Pittodrie result and drag themselves away from quagmire of the bottom half of the table. Killie now sit seven points above bottom club Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Jefferies said: "It was a tremendous effort from the players. There is not much between the teams around about us and this is definitely a point gained. I said to the players after the game if we can show the same passion and determination between now and the end of the season we will pick up points. I was pleased with the manner we went about things today as we never made the mistakes we have been making. Everybody stuck to their tasks and played for the jersey."

The Killie boss also admitted he has had to have words with his players following the side's recent run of poor results. He went on: "I have been telling them a few home truths. Some individuals have been given a wee bit of a reality check. We are near the bottom but so is everybody else. We are seven points away from the bottom but we are also seven points away from the top half. It was a big ask to come up here and get a result and I couldn't have asked for any more from the players today."

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