Aberdeen

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Stuart Armstrong is not ready to give up on his World Cup dream but the Aberdeen midfielder admits it will be tough to force his way back into the Scotland squad.

A year has passed since the 33-year-old won the last of his 53 caps as a late substitute in Poland.

You need to go back a further 12 months for his last start, which brought a goal in a 3-3 draw with Norway.

"I need to play really well, but the team is so strong, the boys have done so well, so credit has to go to them," said Armstrong when asked about the prospect of being involved in North America next summer.

"I think every player dreams of going to the World Cup, so I will just have to play really, really, really well."

Armstrong arrived at his home town club in September looking for regular first team football after short spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Vancouver Whitecaps.

"I think it has been good, I would like it to be better and more consistent," he said of his form at Pittodrie.

Armstrong has made 15 appearances, 13 of them starts, scoring once, with his second assist coming in Wednesday's 3-3 draw at home to St Mirren.

"We have a lot of games so obviously you don't go in to every game as fresh as you would like but every time I step out I try to be the best I can be," he said.

"Sometimes that is not always the case, there are always going to be some mistakes.

"I am nearly there [in terms of full fitness] if not there at the moment.

"Games help that, playing a lot of games and then your body adapts to the conditioning of it but also the recovery of it as well.

"It is not such a shock to the old body to play a game any more so I would say now I feel quite good."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Scottish Premiership trip to Dundee.

Here are the key lines:

• Defender Gavin Molloy will be out for six to eight weeks after injuring knee ligaments during the 3-3 midweek draw with St Mirren.

• "It is a blow because he has shown this season he has a part to play," says Thelin. "He has been really important when he has been playing for us, as a wing-back or a centre-back. That is football and we have to support him and make him come back as quick as possible."

• Thelin says "you have to put things in the past" after the disappointment of conceding a 99th-minute equaliser at home to the Buddies.

• He believes the overall performance was decent but notes "there were some situations that quite hurt us".

• Despite beating Dundee 4-0 at Pittodrie in October, Thelin is expecting a difficult test at Dens Park - "every game is tough in this league" - and the Dons will have to "do our things really well".

• On whether he is tempted to start both strikers Kevin Nisbet and Marko Lazetic, he highlights the number of games coming up and says: "It is more about now how you can use the squad, use the energy."

• Thelin says next summer's World Cup is "a strong motivation" for the players in his squad harbouring dreams of playing in the finals.

Image source, SNS

• Dundee have failed to score in eight Scottish Premiership matches this season – the most of any side – and have drawn a blank in four of their past five league games.

• Aberdeen have picked up as many points in their past five league games (11 – W3 D2) as they had in their previous 15 (W3 D2 L10).

• Dundee have won three of their past four home league games (L1), this after having won just one of their previous 14 (D5 L8).

• Aberdeen have won eight of their past 11 away league games at Dundee (D1 L2), including both of their visits last season (both 2-1).

• Dundee have lost their past four league meetings with Aberdeen, conceding at least two goals in each game during that time.

Watch Sportscene pundits Scott Allan and Neil McCann dissect the performance of Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov in the chaotic 3-3 draw with St Mirren.

We asked for your thoughts after Aberdeen's dramatic 3-3 draw at home to St Mirren.

Here are some of your comments:

Roni: We score, they score kind of game. I always say St Mirren is Aberdeen's bogey game and I never expected anything but the defence was the problem in this game. Marko Lazetic did everything he had to and we just kept conceding.

Paul: Completely fed up of Jimmy Thelin selecting the likes of Alexander Jensen who cannot cross, pass or tackle, Adil Aouchiche who seems to practice missing the target, or Sivert Heltne Nilsen who, like Jensen, is like playing with a man short. Time to go Jimmy and take most of your signings with you

Spencer: Three points off the top six? It's like seeing an elephant up a tree. So many questions to be asked. Dimitar Mitov had a bit of a stinker but I disagree with some I've read saying we need to bench him, he's kept us in an awful lot. It's a draw that feels like a defeat. We've got a game in hand over Falkirk and no option but to take advantage of it. On to the weekend. Dundee a must win.

Fred: Great to score three but our goalkeeper went to sleep hence two points wasted. Some very strange substitutions, our manager seems to find it impossible to field a consistent starting eleven so the team never looks like a strong unit.

Ian: This team is the poorest outfit I have had to watch in my 64 years on this planet. The manager hasn't got a clue what team to put out from one week to another put out what you think is your best starting line up and stick with it.

George: Two points thrown away. Mitov has to be dropped, he's a liability and as for Kevin Nisbet he should of been taken off at half time for missing that header. This giving everybody a game is wrong and Thelin has to get a grip. Needed three points, had three points and threw two away - not good enough.

Watch the best of the action as St Mirren score a 99th-minute equaliser in six-goal thriller with Aberdeen at Pittodrie. (Available to UK users only)

Strasbourg striker and captain Emmanuel Emegha, who recently signed a pre-contract agreement to join Chelsea, has been disciplined and left out of their squad for their weekend game with Toulouse, but the 22-year-old is currently due to be available for their Conference League game against Aberdeen. (The Scotsman), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Richard King's towering 99th-minute header earned St Mirren an unlikely Scottish Premiership point in a frantic six-goal thriller against Aberdeen.

Read the match report

Have your say

Image source, SNS

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin tells BBC Scotland: "You get a lot of emotions when you come back in the game so many times and do a really good performance overall.

"It was disappointing to score three goals and come away with one point.

"We created more chances, looked quite balanced, but sometimes moments happen in the game and St Mirren were really effective.

"The referees take the decisions and we have to focus on other things.

"I'm really focused on being good again on Saturday. A lot of things were good today, but that's football sometimes.

"We have been on a quite good run and in the moment, you have feelings. This is in the past now and we need to stay positive and focus on the right things."

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin insists his players "never stopped believing" they'd get back to their best as they push for another three points on Wednesday night when St Mirren travel to Pittodrie.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

It certainly wasn't pretty but another Premiership victory and a clean sheet was the most important thing for Aberdeen as they defeated Livingston in West Lothian.

That's four 1-0 victories in their last seven league matches with three of them coming at venues, alongside St Mirren and Kilmarnock, that have proven troublesome in recent seasons.

It is still difficult to pinpoint why a team with decent attacking options on paper looks like it is toiling the closer it gets to the final third of the pitch, but there can be no denying Jimmy Thelin has made them much more difficult to score against.

In the last eight matches, they and Hearts have only conceded five times and in that sample size, the Dons have actually collected a point more than the league leaders.

With St Mirren visiting Pittodrie this evening, Thelin has the opportunity to make it three successive league victories for the first time in over a year before they go to a happy hunting ground in Dens Park on Saturday.

One of the highlights for the Dons' supporters this year has been watching Hazlehead boys Jack Milne and Dylan Lobban cement their places in the starting XI.

Milne was a stand-out in last season's Scottish Cup final whilst Lobban's breakthrough has led to a Scotland under 21 cap.

In Milne's case, he has a realistic opportunity to push for a place in the Scotland squad for their March friendlies with a World Cup on the horizon.

Thelin's biggest conundrum remains turning the Dons into a bigger threat at the other end of the pitch.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has confirmed talks with midfielder Dante Polvara regarding a new contract are ongoing, with the 25-year-old out of contract in the summer and on Hibernian's radar. (Press & Journal), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, SNS

• After their 1-0 victory in October, Aberdeen are looking to win back-to-back league meetings with St Mirren for the first time since December 2018 (four in-a-row).

• Since the start of 2021-22, St Mirren have won nine of their 16 league meetings with Aberdeen (D2 L5), scoring 26 goals against them. This is both their most wins and most goals against any Scottish Premiership opponent in this time.

• Aberdeen have only lost one of their last five home league games (W2 D2), after having lost three in a row at Pittodrie beforehand. The Dons are looking to win back-to-back Scottish Premiership home matches for the first time since they won 10 in-a-row from April-November 2024.

• St Mirren have lost seven of their last eight midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away league games (D1), although their last such win was at Aberdeen in February 2023 (3-1).

• Aberdeen have lost each of their last three home league games played in midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), last enduring a longer such losing run in February 2011 (five in-a-row).

Image source, SNS

Jimmy Thelin says Aberdeen are "closer and closer" to reigniting their creative spark after grinding their way back to form.

The Dons have won five of their past seven league fixtures to move three points behind sixth-placed Falkirk.

However, Thelin's men have not scored more than one goal in a game since beating Dundee 4-0 on 5 October and Thelin is looking to build further on their attacking play, starting with the visit of St Mirren on Wednesday night.

"It's always a balance but I think we're getting even closer and closer," said Thelin.

"First of all, football is scoring more goals than opponents in the games and we have done that.

"That's the first thing. Then of course you want to play and create more chances.

"We have to start from somewhere. I think we're going to grow every week, it's coming, if you can keep the platform we're on right now and adding things and don't take steps back.

"So take belief, step by step. We're not training so much right now with so many games, but the focus is for us to get better and better timing in and around the opponents' box.

"You have to find ways to win when you have a struggling time and then from there, building better rhythm in the team.

"I think it's closer than maybe you can think sometimes. We have to be stable but adding these qualities."

Image source, SNS

Emmanuel Gyamfi is in contention after returning from a hamstring injury but Aberdeen remain without Kristers Tobers (knee).

St Mirren will be without Mark O'Hara and Declan John but both are expected to return for the weekend.

Robbie Boyle
BBC News Scotland

Image source, SNS

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before the visit of St Mirren on Wednesday.

Here are the key points:

• Thelin expects a tough match despite St Mirren's poor form and says the game for Aberdeen is about "keeping stable as a team" and to build on recent results.

• He said his side have shown resilience in recent away games and now the aim is to improve home performances.

• When asked if he'd like to see his side score more goals, Thelin said: "Football is about scoring more goals than opponents in games and we have done that."

• He adds it has been important to find ways to win while struggling, but admitted there's a focus on improving timing in and around the box.

• With eight matches to come in December the Swede said "you want to play games all the time" and the whole squad are ready for opportunities.

• Two of this month's games come in the Conference League and when asked about the fixture congestion the 47-year-old added: "If you can choose to be in Europe or not, you're going to choose to be in Europe."

• On the Dons' defensive improvements, Thelin said it is a "foundation you need to have" and the key to consistency is to try and not be a too emotional team that is "jumping up and down".

• Team news: Everyone is training but work on fitness of some players in the squad is ongoing.

Aberdeen and Kusini Yengi are expected to mutually part ways in January, Vicente Besuijen could follow and fellow forward Peter Ambrose could go on loan, while midfielders Sivert Heltne Nilsen and Leighton Clarkson, plus on-loan centre-half Alfie Dorrington, face uncertain futures. (Press & Journal), external

Former Aberdeen, Everton and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness says he was asked "quite a long time ago" to do the same job at Rangers but turned it down. (Football Insider), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Image source, SNS

Aberdeen Football Club has warned that the city council risks missing out on a "transformational" boost to the local economy if it decides against a proposed shared community stadium to replace Pittodrie.

The Scottish Premiership club was responding to a report in the Press & Journal newspaper that claimed their latest offer "to break the deadlock in talks over a new beachfront stadium looks set to be thrown out".

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack offered to give Pittodrie and the surrounding land to the council to secure a proposed 99-year lease on the replacement ground.

But finance convener Alex McLellan was quoted as saying that "if Dave Cormack needs to raise capital to fund the stadium, he should be looking to the private market" to sell it himself.

In response, the football club stated on their website:, external "It was Aberdeen City Council who proposed a shared community stadium and leisure centre and who asked Aberdeen Football Club if they would consider staying in the city centre and being the major tenant for the centrepiece of the beach masterplan.

"The ball is not in our court. It is well and truly in the hands of our council leaders – only they have the mandate and the ability to secure public, capital investment to drive a major infrastructure project like this.

"The leaders of the opposition parties understand this. Sadly, our current administration does not and continues to deliberately miss the point, which is both disappointing and disingenuous."

Aberdeen say the council's co-leaders promised 18 months ago to research similar projects where a football club was the anchor tenant in a community stadium.

"A new economic impact report from BiGGAR Economics revealed that this transformational project will generate £3.2bn into the local economy over 50 years," the club claim.

"If this was just about a new stadium for the club, we'd look at moving ahead with Kingsford [an alternative out-of-town site] or explore the major challenges of trying to redevelop Pittodrie."

Aberdeen hoped the report would persuade the council to "work together to seriously evaluate the project" but "instead, all we've seen from them are mis-leading briefings to the media, dismissing the economic report by a reputable company used by the Scottish Government".

The city council has been approached for comment.

Image source, SNS

Jack Milne's form at Aberdeen may make it "very difficult" for Scotland head coach Steve Clarke to ignore, believes Andy Halliday.

Motherwell's Halliday has been impressed with the 22-year-old, who has made 19 appearances so far this season.

"It's important that we're looking at where can we improve our squad, not only for the World Cup but moving forward," Halliday told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Scotland lack a little bit in both boxes, I'd say, at the centre-half position and the striker position. Especially you're always looking at what's the next batch coming through, who are the younger players coming through that can potentially replace these guys?

"Jack Milne for me is certainly one that's caught the eye over the course of the season. I actually thought he was excellent in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic last year, playing the middle of the back three and I think he's having a really good season for Aberdeen.

"Aberdeen, since they've changed their shape to that back three, they've had a wee upturn in results and performances and I think Jack Milne's been absolutely integral to that as well. Jack Milne will make it very difficult for him to be ignored if continues the form he's on."

Jonathan Sutherland
BBC Scotland Sportscene presenter

Two Aberdeen players make my Premiership team of the week after securing a big three points on the road with a late winner against Livingston.

Nicky Devlin popped up with the decisive goal against his former club, while fellow defender Jack Milne is an increasingly commanding presence at the back as the visitors secured another clean sheet.

Is the 22 year old an outside shout for a place in Scotland's 2026 World Cup squad?

We asked for your views after Aberdeen's 1-0 away win over Livingston.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Allan: Not a great watch but a win is a win especially down at Livi. To be positive the defence looks dependable at last interesting that two young players get their chance and form improves. Midfield to front line still a problem.

Mike: Aberdeen are becoming difficult to beat and the changes at the back are positive. Middle to front though is alarming despite these good players on paper. No attacking threat down the left needs to be resolved quickly as when we do lose goals inevitably I have no confidence we can score.

John: A win is a win. Supporters should get off Jimmy Thelin's back and concentrate on backing the team through a congested fixture list in December.

Allan: Although a welcome three points, another unconvincing performance. I think most Dons fans will happily accept that for now but product on the pitch has to significantly improve if we're to get top four.

Jordan: Snatch and grab! Sign of a good team who grind out wins when they don't play well. Earlier this season that would have been a defeat. But creativity needs to improve in final third. Nicky Devlin is the best signing we have made in the last five years

Liam: Another tepid performance from the attacking men, spared by the ever impressive defence. It's clear that we don't have the midfield box-to-box players needed for a successful 5-3-2, so this needs to be addressed in January.

Niall: Three massive points, but the same issues are there. Just not enough of a threat up front. There are definite signs of more cohesion and Jesper Karlson is at the centre of all the creativity. Much more determination and drive, we just need more goals and things will begin to click.

Charlie: There are promising signs of progress in this team, and they are looking more coherent. However, making heavy weather of beating a team in the lower reaches of the division is not the standard Aberdeen should be settling for. So, much work still to do.