Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Joe Harper: Jimmy Thelin has the chance to get Aberdeen off to a flyer with favourable fixture start

The fixture list has been kind to the Dons as they begin life under their new manager.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin. Image: SNS
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin. Image: SNS

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin can get his season off to a flying start if his side can take advantage of a favourable fixture list.

The fixtures for the new Scottish Premiership season are out – and the Dons have the opportunity to race out the traps if they can seize their chance.

A trip to St Johnstone gets the new season up and running, before back-to-back home games against St Mirren and Kilmarnock. The Dons will then round off August with a trip to Ross County.

There are no easy games in this league, but I’m sure if you had said to the new Dons manager he won’t have to face Celtic or Rangers until October in the league, then he would have been delighted.

It’s a new group of players in a new league in a new country, and for Thelin to have three months of working with his players under his belt before facing the Old Firm is priceless.

That work is already under way, with the players back in the fold for training at Cormack Park this week ahead of their training camp in Portugal next week.

Pre-season is hard work, but also a chance to enjoy yourself, bond with your team-mates and get to know the new lads who have joined the club.

But this summer it’s also an important time for the squad to get to their new management team and vice versa.

It’s a big season for the Dons after the disappointment of the last campaign. The league was a major let-down for the club, and at times, it looked as if the players were strangers to each other.

A bond behind the scenes is so important to what happens on the pitch. I want to see the players demanding high standards of each other.

Players must make most of their clean slate

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Pieter van der Woude/Orange Pictures/Shutterstock (14362367aq) Vicente Besuijen of FC Emmen looks on during the Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie match between FC Emmen and SC Cambuur at De Oude Meerdijk on February 23, 2024 in Emmen, Netherlands. FC Emmen v SC Cambuur - Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie, De Oude Meerdijk, Emmen, Netherlands - 23 Feb 2024
Aberdeen winger Vicente Besuijen is back at Pittodrie after his loan with FC Emmen. Image: Shutterstock.

Thelin looks to be true to his word that it would be a clean slate for everyone so far, with the likes of Vicente Besuijen and Jayden Richardson back in the fold for pre-season.

Both have been out in the cold in the last year, with Besuijen nowhere near the first-team before going out on loan, while Richardson had two loan spells.

Don’t forget Pape Habib-Gueye is also due back soon, so that’s another player I hope to see returning to the club with more confidence and some determination to prove themselves.

We don’t know what the future holds for these guys, but at least they will be given the opportunity to show they are deserving of being Aberdeen players and in the manager’s plans.

That goes for every player at the club, whether they were regulars or watching from the bench.

It’s only right the manager should assess everyone ahead of the new season. There may be players he thinks he can use differently or others who he decides are not going to be part of his plans.

But everyone will get a fair crack of the whip.

There are three new faces on board so far, but I get the impression every position is up for grabs in Thelin’s team.

It’s up to the players now to make the most of that opportunity they have been given.

New Dons women’s boss has a tough task ahead of him

New Aberdeen FC Women’s boss Colin Bell. Image: Aberdeen FC.

The Dons have pulled off a real coup in landing former Champions League winning manager Colin Bell to take charge of their women’s team.

A vastly experienced coach, Bell will need to use all the experience he has gained though, after the loss of seven players from last season’s squad.

Former boss Clint Lancaster had a young side to work with last season as it was, but the loss of star trio Bayley Hutchison, Eilidh Shore and Jess Broadrick leaves a huge hole right through the spine of the team.

We’re talking about the league’s leading goalscorer in Hutchison, their star midfielder in Shore and a dominant centre-half in Broadrick.

They were the first three names on the manager’s teamsheet last season and they were three players who had led the way in the club’s rise up the leagues to the top-flight.

Bell has only just arrived, but already he has a big job on his hands in trying to find replacements – not just for those players, but also the other members of the squad who have moved on.

Calls for Clarke to go are ridiculous

Scotland boss Steve Clarke. Image: Shutterstock.

Scotland’s Euro campaign ended with a whimper.

We didn’t lay a glove on what was a poor Hungary in our final game and can have no complaints about going out.

The Tartan Army were magnificent, but it was a really poor tournament from the team – we looked tired and nowhere near the levels we were showing nine months ago.

But the calls for Steve Clarke to go are daft.

He’s done a fantastic job and deserves another crack at leading us to the World Cup in 2026.

Conversation