Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin can smash the Old Firm’s damaging dominance of Scottish football that has dragged on for generations.
Thelin will respect Celtic and Rangers, but he has no fear of them.
And, as a result, his players are embracing the same attitude.
The 46-year-old arrived at Pittodrie from Sweden completely distanced from the eroding mantra the Premiership is, and always will be, a two-horse race.
It has been hammered home to Scottish football fans since a young age the league title race, and most cups, will be fought out between Celtic and Rangers.
For those outside the Glasgow two, you must know your place and stay there!
For so long the belief the league will be a two-way scrap before a ball is even kicked in anger in the Premiership has been blindly accepted.
Great – if you are a fan of Celtic and Rangers.
Demoralising and depressingly dull if you are a fan of any other club.
Thelin is rattling the status quo
That domination is hammered home for so long it becomes ingrained in the psyche, so people believe it and that fear factor about the Old Firm seeps in.
Not for Thelin, though.
He proved he is completely free of that brainwashing when Aberdeen fought back at Parkhead from two goals down against Celtic to draw 2-2.
At 2-0 behind, most managers would have bottled it – Thelin embraced it and had a go.
Scottish football fans are screaming for a different narrative from the hackneyed Celtic and Rangers storyline which has been played on repeat for too long.
Thelin is delivering it and that is rattling the status quo.
I have already seen enough from Thelin and Aberdeen to convince me they can finish ahead of Rangers to break the Old Firm dominance.
Pushing Celtic all the way to the end of the season in a title fight may be beyond them… for now.
Thelin is only five months into what he views as a three-year rebuild project and he already has them firing.
Next season, after a further two transfer windows and further time to instill his football philosophy deeper, they could push all the way for the title.
Thelin was fearless at Parkhead
Celtic and Rangers will be concerned at the rise of Aberdeen – and they should be.
Is there anything more satisfying than ripping the pillars of power and playing with a freedom and belief that shocks the power-brokers?
Under Thelin, the Dons went to Parkhead to get a win.
It didn’t go to plan in the first-half with the Reds two goals behind.
Many will have written off Thelin and the Dons then, thinking normal service has resumed.
On my previous three visits to Parkhead, I witnessed 4-0, 5-0 and 6-0 defeats and it felt like damage limitation in those games.
However, there was no panic from Thelin who remained calm – and that transmitted to his players.
Thelin was not only icy cool at Parkhead, he was fearless and brave.
The Swede made positive, attacking substitutions at half-time with the introduction of Duk and Ester Sokler.
Thelin had a plan B. I sense he also has a plan C, D, E and F… all the way to Z.
Aberdeen now have a clear identity
In just a matter of months he has built a clear identity into the Aberdeen team.
And the players have embraced and flourished under it.
Aberdeen had just 16.1% possession to Celtic’s 83.9% at Parkhead in the second half, with 67 passes to the Hoops’ 361.
But the Dons did not park the bus.
It is Thelin’s highly-effective tactics.
While manager of Elfsborg, Thelin masterminded a 3-1 win against league champions Malmo in May this year- with just 18% of possession.
Possession can be sacrificed if you maximise your time on the ball with fast, decisive attacking moves on the transition, which is what Aberdeen, under Thelin, do.
Thelin has been a breath of fresh air for Scottish football, and might blow away the status quo.
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