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.

Aberdeen midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen reveals why he gets ‘crazy’ on the pitch

Norwegian midfielder Heltne Nilsen also discusses his strong partnership with 'inspirational' captain Graeme Shinnie.

Sivert Heltne Nilsen (6) of Aberdeen during the Premier Sports Scottish League Cup match against Queen's Park. Image: Shutterstock
Aberdeen midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen in action. Image: Shutterstock.

Aberdeen midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen has revealed he is quiet in the dressing room but gets “crazy” on the pitch due to his drive to win.

Norwegian Heltne Nilsen has been an influential cog in the Dons team that has delivered a perfect start to the season with 10 wins from 10.

The midfielder believes Aberdeen have played with “no fear” during that sensational winning streak.

Signed on a three-year-contract for £300,000 from Norwegian club SK Brann this summer, Nilsen has started every game he has been eligible for.

The only match he missed was the Premier Sports Cup win at East Kilbride (4-0) when serving a ban that had carried over from his time in Norway.

Nilsen was sent off after just 10 minutes of Brann’s 5-1 loss to Bodo Glimt just six days before signing for Aberdeen.

The 32-year-old has quickly forged a reputation with Aberdeen as a combative, no nonsense midfielder who brings an aggressive edge to the team.

Aberdeen midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen at Cormack Park.Image: SNS

Heltne Nilsen said: “Actually I’m not the person who talks in the dressing room.

“I’m just the guy who gets crazy when I come on the field.

“Because I get into a bubble and my only wish is to win.

“It can be good sometimes and bad sometimes but my only wish is to win and do my best for the team.”

Aberdeen’s Sivert Heltne Nilsen against St Johnstone. Image: SNS

Partnership with skipper Shinnie

Heltne Nilsen was captain of Eliteserien side SK Brann when he opted to sign on at Pittodrie under former boss Thelin.

The midfielder played under Thelin at Elfsborg from 2019 to 2021.

As captain he led Elfsborg to a Swedish top flight runners-up finish in 2020.

Since joining Aberdeen Heltne Nilsen has forged a strong partnership with skipper Graeme Shinnie.

They have played together as the deep midfield two in Thelin’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Heltne Nilsen insists he is relishing playing alongside “inspirational leader” Shinnie.

Aberdeen’s Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Heltne Nilsen celebrate as Topi Keskinen scores to make it 1-0 during a Premier Sports Cup  tie with Queen’s Park. Image: SNS

He said: “I feel like it’s easy to play with Graeme as he is a really good player.

“You can see his abilities with his passing.

“And I’m really impressed with his smartness.

“He is a very good technical player and I enjoy playing alongside him as he is a very inspirational leader.”

‘We play with no fear as we want to be ourselves’

Shinnie was ruled out of the 2-1 Premiership win against Motherwell at the weekend due to illness but is set to return this weekend.

Summer signing Ante Palaversa was drafted in as Shinnie’s replacement and impressed alongside Heltne Nilsen against the Steelmen.

The win against Well extended Aberdeen’s perfect start to the season under Thelin.

It is the second longest winning streak in the club’s 121-year history.

Only a 15 game winning run in the 1970-71 season is better.

Heltne Nilsen said: “We play with no fear as we want to play and be ourselves.

“We might have to adapt to some clubs but we want to be ourselves whatever team we meet.

“The manager has told us to stick to the plan and keep doing what we are doing.”

Aberdeen’s focus on team spirit

Aberdeen will bid to extend their winning run when facing League Two Spartans in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Pittodrie on Saturday.

Up for grabs is a semi-final slot at Hampden.

Ross County’s Josh Nisbet in action against Aberdeen’s Sivert Heltne Nilsen. Image: SNS.

Heltne-Nilsen: “We are all pushing hard.

“I feel that the whole squad is pushing together in a positive direction.

“There is also a lot of focus on team spirit and that has been really good especially from the players who haven’t been starting games.”

Get the latest Dons news direct to your phone by joining our Aberdeen FC WhatsApp community.

 

Conversation