Jimmy Thelin has told the Red Army his rebuild and mission to bring consistent success to Aberdeen will be a “a three-year project” where his team will need “everybody behind us”.
The Dons have started the season with three Premier Sports Cup group wins under new Swedish boss Thelin, and can progress to the knock-out stages with a flawless record if they beat League One visitors Dumbarton on Saturday.
St Johnstone are then Aberdeen’s opening Premiership opponents at McDiarmid Park a week on Monday, with the Reds squad looking to improve on last term’s bottom-half finish.
After enjoying the “nice atmosphere” of his Pittodrie dugout debut in Tuesday’s comeback 2-1 League Cup group victory over Airdrieonians – a game where the Dons were much-improved after half-time – manager Thelin has reminded supporters he will need time to build the side fans want to see.
But with just over a month of the transfer window left, Thelin, thinks further work on the training ground to help improve his existing players will be just as important as adding to his four summer signings so far.
Thelin said: “I think we have a clear plan that we want to do – but it’s a three-year project.
“We have the windows and it’s step-by-step. We can’t do everything in one night.
“But it’s not only about transfers, it’s also about how we train, how we compete in training, the fighting spirit in training, because we need to take the context from training closer to the game and try to create the identity we want to show the fans.
“Maybe some of the players will grow a lot and make a bigger impact in the team. Maybe we need to bring someone in to get the process quicker.
“We want to play really quick, really strong in attacking, both central and wide.
“How are we going to do that? Through training, but it’s maybe we also need some different qualities in the team to get a better balance.”
Thelin wants consistent intensity and for Aberdeen to be more compact
Going back over the win over Airdrie and detailing areas where Aberdeen can improve, Thelin, who is on a three-year contract with the Dons, said: “In the first half we were not intense enough. It was not consistent with our identity yet.
“First we need to show the aggressiveness, then try from there to be consistent in that.”
The former Elfsborg boss thinks his side showed they have “something” by turning the game around in the second period, adding: “That’s a sign the team has something that we can act during a game and change some small parts and be better.
“It was good to see that from the squad and not (levels) dropping even more.”
One of Thelin’s aims for the Dumbarton game is for his Dons to tighten up, after they conceded the opener to Tuesday’s Championship opponents Airdrie.
He said: “Things we’re working on right now are the compactness of the team – sometimes we do it really well and then sometimes it’s too much gaps.
“It’s maybe something some of the players are not used to: how to play with a block and what we want to do.
“We’ll try to tighten up for this game and be even better at that.”
Bojan Miovski has ‘behaved really well’ amid transfer noise
Last season’s 26-goal Dons striker Bojan Miovski made his first appearance of the season when he came on as a substitute for the second half against Airdrie.
While another striker, Duk, remains AWOL from the club as he seeks a move away, Miovski, linked with big-money switches across Europe, has been hailed for his professionalism and “humble” mentality by Thelin.
Miovski’s contribution helped Aberdeen turn the game against Airdrie, with goals from skipper Graeme Shinnie – himself praised by Thelin for his added goal threat, as well as “taking responsibility to control the transitions against us” – and Leighton Clarkson.
On Miovski, the manager said: “He’s a really good player and what he showed in the second half was really nice to see. He brought a lot of good stuff to the team and how we play.
“But still, it’s a window.
“There’s a lot of noise, but he’s behaved really well and his focus is here and he’s ready to be in the squad on Saturday.
“It says a lot about him, how professional he is and how humble and grateful he is for the journey he’s made in Aberdeen. How he wants to give back to the supporters.
“He’s also still an Aberdeen player. We can’t forget about that.
“You never know what will happen. But I’m happy with how he’s showing up, how he’s competing in training.”
Pape Habib Gueye set for Aberdeen squad as Angus MacDonald goes under knife
Thelin confirmed attacker Pape Habib Gueye is set to be in the Aberdeen squad against Dumbarton for first time since returning from a loan spell at Kristiansund BK in Norway.
“We are going to be 21 tomorrow in the squad again,” Thelin said. “And let’s see which one is going to be out of the squad for Saturday, but he’s going to be inside the squad.”
Midfielder Dante Polvara, who recently had an operation to repair a torn hamstring, will be on the sidelines for some time.
Meanwhile, centre-back Angus MacDonald, Thelin revealed, has also gone under the knife this week, but is expected to be back in action within a couple of weeks.
Thelin said: “It’s a minor operation is the only thing I can say about that.
“It’s a small thing. It’s fixed and it’s done and he’s back again.
“They told us 10 days and then he’s ready to play again.”
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