Aberdeen

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Scottish Premiership match with Dundee United at Tannadice.

Here are the key lines from his media conference:

• Thelin said he and his squad had a "clear conversation" after the weekend defeat in the League Cup to Motherwell and it is "now up to us to turn things around".

• On the game with Dundee United, the Swede told reporters his side need to put in a good level of performance and act like a "really good team" to give themselves the best chance to earn three points.

• When asked about conversations with the board given the side's poor run of form, he said: "Football is a sport of results. I still have dialogue with the CEO Alan [Burrows] and the chairman [Dave Cormack] every day. Nothing has changed in our dynamic."

• When asked about whether those conversations have reassured him he will be given time to turn things round at Pittodrie, he added "we are all on the same page" and "we have a clear and open dialogue on what we want to improve".

• Thelin's side were booed by some supporters following the defeat to Motherwell but the 47-year-old said his advice to his players is always to just focus on the things they can control.

• The Aberdeen manager added he has young players who will continue to grow but admitted they will "have to learn quickly" with results not going their way.

• Thelin said it is "super clear" to his players what they need to do at Tannadice, and that included being better at the basics of the game.

Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov says the players must shoulder all the blame for Aberdeen's disastrous start to the season. (Press & Journal)

Read the rest of Monday's gossip.

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Former Aberdeen manager Willie Miller on BBC Sportsound

Aberdeen were hugely disappointing.

They had two great opportunities, but two defenders were on the end of them - Mats Knoester and Nicky Devlin.

Jimmy Thelin will point out they hit the crossbar, but it's not enough.

Motherwell were the better team. They created the better chances, scored a wonderful goal and were easy on the eye.

They go into the semi-finals and they deserve to be there.

The pressure has got to come on Aberdeen now. You're bottom of the league, can't score goals and you're out of the cup.

They looked a disjointed team.

You can't expect anything else than fan frustration.

It's very difficult to find a positive message at the end of this game with where Aberdeen sit.

This was a great opportunity to give the fans hope going into this crucial week against United and Motherwell again.

We asked for your views on Aberdeen's 1-0 defeat against Motherwell.

Here's what some of you said:

Sean: Jimmy Thelin has no 'Plan B'. Same issues every week. Other Aberdeen managers have been sacked for less. Our league form has been poor since November last year.

Karl: Never seen a team so easy to defend against in all my life. Slowest team to counter attack ever. We get the ball in promising positions, only for it to end up passed back to Dimitar Mitov.

Thelin has Tuesday to show he can change formation and tactics or he has to go.

Garry: That's it for my sympathy. It has to be over for Thelin. Nothing in logic says he's going to improve our situation. It's almost like he's so stubborn, he simply can't see our best team and if that's his job then he's the single point of failure.

I like the guy, but the club is bigger than a one man mission to play his system at all costs. Players looked bemused at times, especially those watching from the bench.

Peter Leven has to replace him to save our season. He was at least animated and encouraging. Something's not right in all of this mix. Oh to be a fly on the wall in that dressing room.

Bernie: How long do you give a "long term" project, before it becomes a "terminal" diagnosis? The current squad, undoubtedly, has talent and in some positions a fair amount of depth, yet Thelin continues to play the same players, in the same formation, until it gets to the last roll of the dice.

Speaking of dice - they must now be in the hands of Dave Cormack, already shaking, ready to let them roll, as these abject performances can not be tolerated for much longer.

Scott: I have always been supportive of Jimmy, even throughout the winter slump, saying that things will change, but I think he needs to go. He hasn't changed anything while having all the correct cards and is unable to get them to fit together. I seriously think that Aberdeen will be relegated this season if Thelin is not sacked within the next two weeks.

Graeme: Enough is enough. Thelin has to go, and I wouldn't shed a tear if Cormack went with him. It's all well and good getting backing from him and the board in the transfer market, but not one of the signings has shown anything, not even Kevin Nisbet, who promised so much after last season. The cup honeymoon is over, it's time for change.

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin tells BBC Scotland: "Really disappointed. Motherwell did more than we did to deserve it, so that's really disappointing for everyone.

"The performance is not there. Everybody has to look in the mirror now to change the run we're on. It's the small things that make a difference in the end. What we're showing isn't acceptable or good enough for Aberdeen.

"It's not working the way we want. We have to do better, because if we keep doing it like this, it won't be good for us.

"The fans' frustrations are the same ones we feel ourselves. We're losing games in the wrong way right now. The fans deserve more and we have to show them that.

"I focus on doing my job as best I can. I still have a strong belief we can change this and turn it around.

"I don't think about [my position]. The frustration is there - I understand that and respect that but I'm not thinking about my job. It's not my call.

"You never give in. You always want to fight. If you have a strong conviction, then things will turn around."

Motherwell booked a Premier Sports Cup semi-final spot for the second season in a row after Regan Charles-Cook's fine strike piled further pressure on Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin.

• Read the full match report here.

• Let us know your thoughts.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says fans are entitled to their opinions but believes "they should always support their own players".

Thelin was responding to questions on apparent cheering and clapping following the withdrawal of Sivert Heltne Nilsen during the second half of last weekend's goalless Premiership draw with Livingston at Pittodrie.

"I can understand emotions, but they should always support their own players," said Thelin, who was unaware of the reaction to the substitution.

"There are always going to be opinions, but we have a good staff here, we have training every day that shows the qualities and what they contribute with, and then it is our decision and my decision as a manager.

"If other people have opinions, they can have opinions, but it is not going to impact our decisions.

"We have a lot of good midfielders, but so far he has been one of the better ones in the training sessions and we are trying to build a culture with the hard work we do. Some of the players are trying to get up to the same level Monday to Friday before the game and keep the same standard."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Stuart Armstrong realised a lifelong dream when he made his Aberdeen debut last weekend.

Twenty years on from failing to make the grade on trial, the 33-year-old Scotland midfielder is now a first-team player for the team he used to go and watch as a child with his dad and brother.

Armstrong, who joined the Dons on a two-year deal at the end of the transfer window, said: "I think when I was around 13 I had six trial games in total for Aberdeen and never quite made the cut, so I had to do the long way round and finally they let me through the gates.

"It was a dream of mine when I was younger. I grew up here, I went to school here, I used to go and watch the games here.

"Some of the first professional games I watched were Aberdeen with my dad and my brother and when I got older I used to go with my friends, so it was a dream of mine and then when I didn't quite make it I was gutted to be honest.

"It is funny being back here and playing in the stadium that I used to watch in all those years ago, so it is a nice feeling for me.

"I was very young back then, and then when something like that happens, you think 'I am never going to be a professional football player?'"

Despite the Dons sitting bottom of the Premiership amid a poor start to the season, Armstrong insists "it is only a matter of time" before they get it right on the park.

Speaking before the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final with Motherwell on Saturday, he said: "There is a lot of quality here. Within each position, there are different types of players who bring different qualities.

"The quality is really high [from] what I have seen so far, a lot of competition for places, so that is the exciting part.

"I think if that wasn't there, then you would be worried, but it is definitely not the case.

"I think it is only a matter of time before the aspects of different players' games gel and result in a positive outcome."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier Sports Cup quarter-final with Motherwell.

Here are the key lines from the Dons boss:

• On fan frustration amid the poor start to the season: "I respect emotions, I always respect our fans. We want to give our fans more but also look ourselves in the mirror and do better in the future."

• Thelin says he hasn't been happy with the intensity of his team in recent games, and on the challenge they face this weekend: "We know the importance of it."

• Aberdeen "have to do more" to get better results and "the position for us now is to turn this around and the only way to do that is to be a stronger team".

• Thelin notes it is "still early in the league" and that "my job is to focus on getting the team better, the players better".

• The Dons boss says Motherwell counterpart Askou - his former managerial rival in Sweden - has "done a really good job" since arriving in Scotland but he adds: "I believe our team are growing."

• Team news: "Everybody is ready to play."

We asked for your views on Jimmy Thelin after Aberdeen's disappointing start to the season and run of one win in 31 Premiership games.

Here are some of your comments.

Stuart: I don't like to see managers losing their job. However, if Aberdeen lose to Motherwell on Saturday I fear for Jimmy being able to keep a hold of his job.

Chris: Aberdeen have a good squad on paper but we are not playing to our strengths and persist with the same tactics that have failed to work since late last year. Picking Sivert Nilsen is also a huge concern. Thelin needs to refresh the tactics and quickly. Cup exit and a loss at United and the fans will, rightly, turn.

Scotty: He delivered the Scottish Cup in May and guided the team into the top six during a clear period of transition. This league is a marathon, not a sprint. I've got full faith in Jimmy to get things right, the squad isn't short on talent, just confidence. This is a long-term project. If we want lasting success, the fans need to show patience and back the process.

Neil: Winning the Scottish Cup, as fantastic as it was, shouldn't be a free pass for poor form and our league form since last October has been nothing short of absolutely shocking. I like Jimmy but I think a lot of supporters would agree that he definitely seems to have his favourites that are playing week in, week out in favour of better players that are sitting on the bench. Could it be that stubbornness that ultimately costs him?

Gordon: He simply must start playing his best players in midfield otherwise he will have to go. It's criminal to have Ante Palaversa, Kjartan Kjartansson and Dante Polvara sitting idly on the bench while two geriatrics like Graeme Shinnie and Nilsen are in the so-called engine room.

Justin: Results have to change as soon as possible. The pressure that comes with being bottom of the league will only get worse if it continues, and then he's in real trouble if that's the case. The team should be gelling more every day so here's hoping.

Charlie: It has always been a long-term project. The final league placing of last season would have been more accepted if the manner in which it was achieved hadn't been so dramatic. The results this season are concerning but there are many new players to gel and Europe to contend with as well. We will finish in the top six and hopefully be in the latter stages of the cup.

Cameron: Thelin will only have the support of the fans if he stops playing Shinnie and Nilsen together. The fans are feed up hearing the same reasoning week after week. Lose to Motherwell and fans will turn 100% against Thelin.

Perry: The great run of form at the beginning of last season was off the back of Peter Leven. As soon as Thelin embedded his style we have regressed! The cup win was only shadowing over the cracks, his ability to pick the wrong team week in, week out has been consistent. I really want him to do well, however the league is looking grim!

Justin: He is not under immediate pressure but it's not far away if things don't improve and quickly. He'll get the team right but it needs to happen fast, please.

Andrew Southwick
BBC Sport Scotland

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He may be new to Scottish football, but Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou will come up against a familiar face in Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin on Saturday.

And his opposite number may well have revenge on his mind, after Askou ruined Thelin's Elfsborg farewell.

The two go head to head at Pittodrie for a place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final, for what will be the second consecutive year Aberdeen or Motherwell have reached the last four.

And it will be the fourth time the two Scandinavians have met each other in management.

Askou made the move from his native Denmark across the border to Sweden to take charge of IFK Goteborg in June 2023. Four games in to his reign, his side made the one-hour trip to Boras, where Thelin's Elfsborg was there to welcome them.

That game ended 1-1, but they would meet again in October in the third-last match of the season. This time Thelin - whose side were battling Malmo for the league title - posted a 2-1 win in Gothenburg.

However, Thelin's side failed to win their final two games of the season, agonisingly losing out on the title on goal difference.

The final time they met was in Thelin's farewell game for Elfsborg before his move to Aberdeen.

Thelin's tenure ended in disappointment after Goteborg eked out a 1-0 win to send the Swede to Scotland on a sour note.

However, Askou was not far behind him in the departure terminal. Just two weeks later he would leave his post to take up an assistant manager role with Sparta Prague.

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Flash back to this time last season and Aberdeen were being tipped as potential title contenders.

Less than a year later, Saturday's goalless draw against Livingston made it just five wins in the past 31 Premiership games for the Dons, who sit rock bottom of the top flight after five matches of the new campaign.

The signing of Stuart Armstrong and loan deal for Jesper Karlsson, as well as the return of striker Kevin Nisbet, looked to be serious business late in the window and hopes are high for the trio once they reach full fitness.

Manager Jimmy Thelin could certainly do with a spark from somewhere. He was a Pittodrie hero in steering the club to long-awaited Scottish Cup success in May, but is pressure building on the Swede?

Dons fans, we want to know your views on the boss. Do you still have full faith in Thelin or is patience wearing thin?

Share your thoughts here.

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The draw for the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals will take place on Sunday after Partick Thistle v Celtic (15:30 BST) concludes.

The semis will be played on the weekend of 1-2 November with the final scheduled for Sunday, 14 December.

St Mirren's trip to Kilmarnock on Friday night (19:45) gets the quarter-finals under way before Aberdeen host Motherwell (15:00) on Saturday followed by Rangers v Hibs (17:45).

Aberdeen will replace departing director of football Steven Gunn with a more technical sporting director. (Press & Journal)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

Jimmy Thelin brought Scottish Cup glory to the club last season, but success only buys so much patience with the support.

Five wins from 31 in the league has Thelin feeling the frustrations of the fans and that was evident at full-time as the boos rang out after a 0-0 draw with Livingston.

While we got our first point on the board and our new signings showed promise, it was below what we expect from a home game against Livingston.

Chances were created and spurned, but the decision to play two holding midfielders is puzzling. There is no need for Sivert Heltne Nilsen and Graeme Shinnie to both feature in games like this.

There was a severe lack of urgency throughout the side, and poor decision-making again in the final third.

We now face Motherwell this weekend in a League Cup quarter-final that feels massive. Win and it's a trip to Hampden but more importantly some feelgood factor can return to Pittodrie.

Lose and the pressure and grumblings will only continue to grow.

Play your best players, not your favourites, please, Jimmy. For your own sake.

Glen can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external

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• Aberdeen have won the Scottish League Cup six times, with their most recent triumph in 2014.

• The Dons have finished as runners-up nine times and reached last season's semi-finals.

• Jimmy Thelin's men beat Greenock Morton 3-0 in the second round to earn their meeting in the quarter-finals against Motherwell on Saturday.

• Three different Dons players have scored in the tournament this season - Sivert Nilsen, Kusini Yengi and Leighton Clarkson.

• Aberdeen have met Motherwell 20 times in the League Cup, winning nine.

• Joe Harper holds the record for Aberdeen's all-time League Cup top scorer with 51 goals.

• The Pittodrie side's biggest wins in this competition were both 9-0, against Queen of the South in 1947 and Raith Rovers in 1983.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin accepts a lack of continuity in midfield may be behind the Pittodrie side's sluggish start to the season. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

The buzz over the new arrivals at Pittodrie soon descended into jeers as Aberdeen's malaise continued with their stalemate against Livingston.

With Falkirk having won at Pittodrie before the international break, just one point out of six have been collected against the two promoted sides.

And while the first two games of the campaign, against Hearts and Celtic, ending in defeat can be forgiven, the last two have concerned Dons supporters.

And more broadly, it is being played out amid a Premiership slump that has been ongoing for 10 months.

Just five wins in 31 since that incredible start to last term leaves Jimmy Thelin with a winning percentage of just 16.12% in that time and, concerningly, that sample size is just seven games off being a full league season.

Outside of the Scottish Cup final, Thelin has persevered with a system that is not yielding the results he wants, with the same old problems rearing their head against a dogged Livi who were more than content with the draw.

Aberdeen looked ponderous and have become quite easy to play against, which is something the Pittodrie manager will want to get to the bottom of and quickly as this is all playing out before their Conference League campaign adds to the burden.

The new additions will clearly take some time to settle, but with visits to Tannadice and Fir Park in their next two Premiership matches, the cup-winning goodwill will only go so far.

Remember Ivan Golac, the man who did what the great Jim Mclean couldn't and won the Scottish Cup for Dundee United? He was gone less than 12 months later and United were relegated.

Thelin knows he needs things to turn, he said as much after the Livi game.

The Swede can now take a quick break from the goalless, winless league start when draw specialists Motherwell come to Pittodrie this weekend in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Saturday would be as good a time as any for Thelin's team to sparkle instead of splutter.