Defiant manager Jimmy Thelin insists Aberdeen will not lose their self-belief or identity after suffering a 6-0 mauling to Celtic at Hampden.
Thelin’s 16-game unbeaten start as Dons boss was brutally ended with a humiliating defeat in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
The Swede vows lessons will be learned from the chastening loss at the national stadium.
And the 46-year-old is adamant the painful defeat will not undermine the progression and positivity he has built at the club.
Thelin was brutally honest in his assessment of the Hampden hammering and says there are no excuses.
The Dons boss says the test of a team is how they react to adversity and he has challenged his side to bounce back immediately from the loss.
Thelin said: “We can take learning points from this game.
“Sometimes in football it can be like this, when things start going wrong they go wrong really quickly.
“We didn’t find a way back and the game slipped away from us due to their quality.
“We have things to learn and things to improve for the future and that’s what we are going to focus on now.
“And we will keep growing.”
‘The important thing is how we react to setbacks’
Celtic netted three quick-fire goals over an 11-minute spell in the first-half through Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda.
Maeda netted twice more after the break with Nicolas Kuhn also on the scoresheet as Aberdeen were blown away.
The Dons have lost the last 10 games against Celtic at Hampden, with the last win coming way back in 1992.
Thelin says he is determined to get Aberdeen to the level where they can overcome Celtic at Hampden in a semi-final or final.
He said: “We want to be in this situation, in important games and in Europe and be strong in the league.
“We want to cope with this intensity so that is what we will have to improve on.
“It is not good for Aberdeen to lose a semi-final 6-0 but the game is over and we are out.
“The most important thing for us now is how we react when we have setbacks.
“How we react tomorrow.
“How we prepare for the next game, how we keep strength and identity and don’t lose the belief.
“I feel that is still strong and we have that togetherness.
“We cannot lose that when we lose a game.”
Thelin’s message to players at full-time in the Hampden dressing room
This is the first setback for Thelin and his players in as season that has been dominated by wins and positivity.
Away from the semi-final pain, the Dons remain unbeaten in the Premiership and level on points with Celtic at the top of the table.
Thelin delivered a message to his players in the Hampden dressing room at full-time.
He said: “When you are winning things can be easy but when you have tough times the most important thing is how you react to that situation.
“I talked to them after the game about how we support each other, as the whole staff, the players.
“We of course wanted to give our supporters a different experience but now we have to focus on the next game.”
‘I don’t want to make excuses’
Thelin fielded the same starting XI at Hampden that had won 2-1 against Rangers at Pittodrie just four days earlier.
Aberdeen looked tired and leggy. Asked if that was an issue, Thelin said: “I don’t want to use excuses.
“We have to get used to this environment and the only way to do that is to be there.
“Now we have to try again.
“We focus and don’t try to find excuses.
“We need to learn, improve on this and take on the challenge again.
“Celtic were really good and hurt us really hard in this game.
“But I believe we are strong enough to move on to the next game.”
Conversation