Aberdeen will seldom have it easier than they did at Pittodrie last night. Kilmarnock may be sixth in the Ladbrokes Premiership but they looked miles from competing in a one-sided affair which saw the home side hoist themselves into third place in the table, ahead of Hearts on goal difference.

A blistering first-half display that produced three  clinical finishes, and two further strikes in the second phase, underlined Aberdeen’s superiority as Kilmarnock struggled to keep their heads above water.

They filleted a creaky Kilmarnock defence to give themselves every reason to believe they can expect victories in their forthcoming home games against St Johnstone on Saturday and Motherwell next Tuesday.

Strikes from Peter Pawlett,  Anthony O’Connor and Jonny Hayes before the break floored the Ayrshire side before Niall McGinn’s goal with 20 minutes remaining and a second from Hayes four minutes from time compounded Kilmarnock’s misery.

Rory McKenzie’s goal late in the game did not even offer them a glimmer hope as they prepared for a silent bus journey back to Ayrshire.

Aberdeen were in charge in every department while the visitors never looked likely to upset the odds as they succumbed to a considerably more energetic team, keen to put behind them successive losses in Glasgow, first to Celtic in the Betfred Cup final and then to Rangers at Ibrox at the weekend.

Aberdeen made four changes from that game; captain Ryan Jack was suspended having been ordered off for two yellow cards while manager Derek McInnes decided that defenders Ash Taylor and Mark Reynolds and Jayden Stockley, his in-out striker, should occupy the bench.

This meant starts for Anthony O’Connor, Pawlett, McGinn and Adam Rooney as Kilmarnock, fresh from their 2-1 Rugby Park victory over Dundee, started with Adam Frizzell rather than Nathan Tyson in midfield.

Tony Docherty, the Reds’ assistant manager, paid tribute to the players who came in, picking out the performance of McGinn as key to the result.

The midfielder had received a special trophy from club chairman Stewart Milne before the game to mark his 50 caps for Northern Ireland and, judging by his overall performance, the quiet ceremony gave him a boost.

“I thought middle to front we were electric at times,” Docherty insisted. “Arguably, we could have had more, although ven at 3-0 I never thought Kilmarnock were out of it.

“The players were hurting after the Rangers defeat and had something to prove. They gave us the reaction we wanted.”

The hosts had to be confident going into this game, given that they had beaten the Ayrshire outfit in  their previous eleven outings, although manager Lee Clark’s Killie revolution since his summer clear-out had encouraged more stoic defensive performances with just five goals lost in the seven games before last night’s.

Oh how that was to change. It was Pawlett who inflicted damage for Aberdeen in the 20th minute as he diverted Graeme Shinnie’s shot from outside the area past Jamie MacDonald, already diving one way to cover the initial strike,  and therefore unable to prevent the ball going into his net.

It took just 10 minutes further on for the hosts to double their lead, this time through Anthony O’Connor, their centre-back, signed in the summer from Burton Albion.  His was first to react after MacDonald’s stunning stop from Pawlett’s shot.

If the visitors were reeling from that one, there was worse to come eight minutes before the interval.

Rooney’s clever ball to the left for Hayes allowed the winger to show his pace in outstripping Luke Hendrie before smashing his shot past MacDonald.

Kilmarnock might have been four down moments later when Maddison was presented with a chance, only for the Rugby Park goalkeeper to produce a fine diving save.

But there was no coming back for the beleaguered visitors and while the tempo of the game dropped in the second half there was never much of a hint that Kilmarnock could fight their way back with any great meaning, despite McKenzie punishing Aberdeen slackness by hitting low past Lewis in the 77th minute.

But, as substitute Jayden Stockley nodded the ball down for Hayes in the Kilmarnock area, the Irish international avoided challenges before rounding MacDonald and touching the ball home.

In the post-match words of Clark, Killie “exploded defensively” as he accepted how difficult it was to “get to grips with the challenge”.

Kilmarnock face Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday, with Clark adding: “If Mark McGhee [the Motherwell manager] was watching that, he’ll be rubbing his hands.”

Aberdeen (4-2-3-1):   Lewis; Logan, O’Connor, Considine, Hayes; McLean, Shinnie;  Maddison (Reynolds 54), Pawlett (Burns 69), McGinn; Rooney (Stockley 78). Subs not used: Alexander, Taylor, Storie, Storey. Booked: Maddison 25, McLean 43.

Kilmarnock (4-1-4-1):  MacDonald; Hendrie, Boyle,  Boyd )Adams 73), Smith; Dicker;  McKenzie, Frizzell (Wilson 46),  Jones (Tyson 46) Taylor; Coulibaly (Adams 73). Subs not used:  Mackay, Bojaj,  Cameron McFadzean. Booked: Boyd 76. Referee:  S Finnie.

Attendance: 8,195.