Manager Jimmy Thelin has brought the joy back for Aberdeen fans with the sensational start to his Pittodrie career.
You could see that joy and feel-good factor with the fantastic atmosphere at a sold-out Pittodrie for the 3-2 win against Hearts.
The stadium was absolutely bouncing and the Red Army drove the team on to extend their perfect start to the season to 13 wins from 13.
There is something very special happening at Pittodrie and new manager Thelin is the architect.
All I see at Pittodrie now are happy, smiling faces with supporters joyous at a record-breaking winning streak.
It is remarkable that Aberdeen are the only team in the top-50 European leagues ranked by Uefa to have a 100% record in all competitions this season.
Wow. That is something to be proud of and people are really starting to sit up and take notice of the club.
Sensation turnaround in fortunes
It is a remarkable turnaround from where Aberdeen were last season.
When Neil Warnock quit as interim manager in March the troubled Dons were in real danger of being dragged into a relegation battle.
Fast forward seven months and Aberdeen are flying high and Pittodrie and the city are absolutely buzzing at the prospect of what may come this season.
Aberdeen fans now have real belief that the club can achieve success under Thelin and it is fantastic to see that optimism.
The atmosphere at Pittodrie during the win against Hearts was unbelievable.
Duk ‘tore into the game’ on return
And that ramped up even more with the introduction of Duk off the bench in the second half because the attacker tore into the game.
It was Duk’s first appearance since returning to the club after going AWOL for three months during the summer.
Duk’s explosive run down the left wing to the byline before cutting the ball back to set up Ante Palaversa for the winner was sensational.
It was a touch of magic that had fans up out of their seats in anticipation of what Duk would do.
Duk was superb in his debut season when scoring 18 goals and earning the club’s player of the year award for 2022-23.
When Palaversa fired in that late winner I loved that all the players ran to Duk to embrace him.
Duk made a mistake by going AWOL in the summer but it is clear the players, management and fans have forgiven him.
Now it is down to Duk to grab this second chance and hopefully consistently produce the high levels he did in his debut season.
Duk certainly looks like he is up for the challenge.
Apart from his danger in attack against Hearts he also tracked back and put in the hard work defensively.
He is also clearly impressing during training, otherwise Thelin wouldn’t have taken him back into the match-day squad.
Aberdeen can beat Celtic in Glasgow
Aberdeen’s sensational winning run will inevitably come to an end at some point.
I believe Thelin and the players have the right mentality to immediately bounce back from that setback when it happens.
Many people will be predicting the run to end when Aberdeen travel to Celtic in a top-of-the-table clash after the international break.
Aberdeen are second in the table, only behind leaders Celtic on goal difference.
Both clubs have a 100% record in the Premiership so it is a high stakes clash.
Thelin and the Dons are more than capable of going to Parkhead and winning.
And that would elevate the joy of Aberdeen fans to rapture.
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