Harper said McGhee (pictured) was not solely to blame for the cup exit

Former star Joe Harper has accused Aberdeen of losing their bottle in the Scottish Cup defeat by Raith Rovers.

Harper told BBC Scotland that the Dons squad were failing boss Mark McGhee and that attendances at Pittodrie could slump to 3,000 in the coming weeks.

"They should've come onto the park like gladiators. Instead, they came on like a bunch of fairies," Harper said.

"The board have got to get the fans back on their side because it's a very angry city at the moment."

McGhee, who was spat at and heckled by irate home fans at full-time on Tuesday, described the cup exit as the worst result of his managerial career.

But Harper, who scored 205 goals during his time as a Dons striker, said the manager should not be solely blamed for the club's latest cup exit.

"These players have just done it once too often," he said.

"The last time it happened was against Dundee earlier on in the season and I called the team a bunch of bottlers.

"Mark McGhee had a go at me for that and said they weren't bottlers. Now he realises these guys are.

"Raith were the better team, played the better football, made the better chances and they wanted to win the cup tie. That was the difference.

"You can forgive players for having a bad game but you can't forgive them for not going out and giving the fans 110%.

"Basically, that's what happened and the longer the game went on you ended up with players hiding on the park, not wanting the ball."

Harper had two spells with Aberdeen in the 1970s and early 80s, winning a Scottish Cup and League Cup between stints with Everton and Hibernian.

And he said the Dons were in dire need of some fresh blood to halt their current slump.

"I was down at the press conference with Mark last night and he's sick of it as well.

"He realises that a lot of these players are going to be leaving the club. But the problem with Aberdeen Football Club is that they don't have any money; don't have any power in football to get decent players in.

"Mark's now got a worse record than Jimmy Calderwood had with cup ties. He's been beaten by two First Division teams in the same season.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to Aberdeen's latest cup exit

"It's going to be a long, long end to the season for the fans."

Harper also warned the board not to ignore the supporters discord.

"Willie Miller and Stewart Milne must realise that something's got to be done or they're going to be playing to 2-3,000 crowds from now until the end of the season," Harper added.

"What they should be doing is getting people into that club who have passion; there are too many people getting big wages only after their own interests."

Meanwhile, chairman Milne admitted the defeat to Raith was one of the worst results he had experienced but insisted he still backed McGhee.

Milne also said he could understand the anger and frustration of fans but said the club would not stand for fans spitting or throwing missiles.

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