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IT will be billed as 90 minutes that could shape the season. It’s more like 24 hours.

Let’s face it, the Celtic game at Pittodrie on Wednesday is pretty much make or break for Aberdeen.

Get beat and the SPFL might as well stick green and white ribbons on the Premiership trophy.

But it won’t be just what happens on the pitch this week that will be important. What goes on in the Pittodrie offices will have every bit as much of a say in how the rest of the campaign pans out.

The clock is ticking on the transfer window and unless the Dons get some serious business done before tomorrow night’s deadline they are in real danger of being in a weaker position than when it opened on January 1.

That’s unthinkable. No wonder Aberdeen fans are pulling their hair out.

They have been waiting 30 days for some decent transfer news and all they keep hearing is about players packing their bags and heading out the door.

Derek McInnes made five signings last summer. Not a massive amount by any stretch of the imagination.

Yet just one of them is left at the club – albeit a good one in Graeme Shinnie.

Keeper Danny Ward has gone back to Liverpool, along with seldom-seen loan pal Ryan McLaughlin.

Josh Parker has headed back to Red Star Belgrade without making much noise and Paul Quinn has called it quits and returned to Dingwall.

The only new face is goalie Adam Collin on loan from Rotherham.

He’s a solid enough signing but not exactly the kind of activity that’ll cause a Pittodrie stampede.

They have already sold out the Celtic clash but the punters need a bit more to persuade them to keep coming back.

This is a time for getting tooled up, not ripping off patches of armour to leave yourselves exposed.

The way Aberdeen are going they will end up like the Monty Python knight who gets his limbs hacked off and tries to shrug them off as flesh wounds.

That’s the scenario the Dons are facing if they can’t get in some reinforcements by tomorrow night.

The Aberdeen squad is top notch, there’s no disputing it.

They are second for a reason, eight points clear of Hearts and just six behind Celtic.

But they are being stretched too thin. There’s too much reliance on the same old faces.

Niall McGinn, Jonny Hayes, Adam Rooney, Mark Reynolds. The usual suspects are producing the goods but could do with some help.

So does McInnes. He’s shown he can be trusted to use money wisely. All of his big signings have improved his team and the low-risk cheapo ones have been moved on as soon as it became

apparent they weren’t going to cut it.

A year ago he was given cash to buy Kenny McLean and 12 months on he needs his board to dig deep again. No one is saying he should be given a million quid to go daft. It’s just not feasible. It's also pretty obvious it’s not a level playing field trying to match what’s happening at Parkhead.

Ronny Deila has been allowed to tool up with the likes of Danish international Erik Sviatchenko and Man City’s £12million man Patrick Roberts.

That’s a message of intent – but it doesn’t mean Aberdeen should just surrender. They need another experienced midfielder.

Ross Draper at Inverness would have done the job but he’s agreed a new deal with Caley.

Don Cowie is up for grabs after leaving Wigan but at 32 he’ll be hoping for one more decent payday in England before considering a return north.

They also need another centre-back following Quinn’s departure.

Aberdeen need to do something or they can forget about a title charge and instead will be looking over their shoulder because Hearts have proved they have the artillery by chucking cash bids around all over the shop.

They are in the same market as the Dons, competing with the same players. They will be stronger this season and next.

Folk talk about Del’s budget being the second biggest in the Premiership. But if it is, it’s not by much, and the Jambos are closing the gap quickly.

A few more full houses at Tynecastle and it will be Dons playing catch-up.

This is crunch time at Pittodrie yet the sound of silence has been deafening.

They should be looking at keeping up with Celtic. They are in a title race again whether they will admit it publicly or not.

But if the board can’t throw their manager the odd bone then they might as well hoist up the white flag.

No one would criticise them for failing. That’s not the same as simply not trying.

Wednesday night will tell us how the campaign is going to go – but tomorrow afternoon will provide us with plenty of hints.