Sir Alex Ferguson was the perfect person for Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin to spend time with following the heavy defeat to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
My old manager Sir Alex masterminded many Aberdeen wins against Celtic and Rangers at Hampden, Parkhead and Ibrox on the way to trophy glory.
He knows what you need to do against the Glasgow two to get a win on their own doorstep.
Thelin was in the company of Sir Alex on Sunday – the day after the heavy 6-0 loss to Celtic at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
Sir Alex and Thelin sat together at Old Trafford to watch Manchester United’s 1-1 Premier League draw.
Thelin couldn’t have a better person to spend time with than Sir Alex.
That time and any advice will be really important as Sir Alex has done it all at Aberdeen and Manchester United.
I’m sure Sir Alex will have told Thelin to learn from the negative side of losing heavily to Celtic and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
That level of experience is priceless, particularly after the wall Thelin hit with the semi-final loss.
Sir Alex is perfect for Thelin to have a conversation with and rely on.
Cup semi-final was a reality check for Aberdeen – and game-plan fell apart
Thelin is still learning about the Scottish game.
And although he had an impressive CV before coming to Aberdeen and got off to a superb 16-game unbeaten start, he is also still learning about football.
Spending time with Sir Alex will be invaluable as my former boss will be able to give his take on the situation Thelin finds himself in.
It has been a brilliant start to the season by Aberdeen but the heavy semi-final loss was a reality check.
You know when Celtic play at the top of their game it is invariably a huge ask to overcome them.
And they were at the top of their game at Hampden as the Hoops were ruthless in front of goal.
The opening spell was okay, but without there being any real indication Aberdeen would go on to cause Celtic problems.
It was a case of Celtic dominating and the Dons trying to make sure they did not lose a goal.
The Dons’ tactics were still pretty open, with Jamie McGrath trying to get in touch with Ester Sokler and the two wide players, Duk and Topi Keskinen.
However, that front four was pretty ineffective.
Keskinen and Duk needed to carry the ball forward, get Aberdeen up the park and allow the defence to push out. That didn’t happen and Aberdeen were constantly on the backfoot and having to defend, which wears you down.
When the attacking four are not functioning properly all the pressure goes on to the sitting six.
And when the they start losing their discipline, Celtic are too good a team not to punish that.
The back six looked compact and restricted Celtic’s space, but when the opening goal went in that all changed.
The discipline went out of the window and the shape became really open.
Both sitting midfielders Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Heltne-Nilsen started chasing out into areas where they were exposed.
The message I would give is that if you lose a goal still keep your shape and don’t lose discipline.
Stick to the game-plan, but that just didn’t happen at Hampden.
Going into half-time 2-0 down at Parkhead recently, there was still that chance of a comeback and to the Reds’ credit they did it to draw 2-2.
However, the moment the Dons went 3-0 down at Hampden there was no coming back.
Then, not long after half-time, they lost another goal.
Aberdeen didn’t have any answer to it as their discipline and shape were lost.
I’m all for attacking football, but when you are playing against Celtic there has to be a little bit of caution and discipline.
When that discipline went after the first goal I feared the worst would happen – and it did.
The team looked a bit heavy legged as well and maybe the midweek win against Rangers had an effect on them.
Aberdeen need to bounce back
Aberdeen must not have a Hampden hangover when they face Dundee in the Premiership at Pittodrie on Saturday.
Losing so heavily to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final will have been a sobering 90 minutes for the Dons.
However, they have to quickly learn lessons from the setback and focus on bouncing back against Dundee.
There is still so much of the season to look back on with real positivity – and they should also look forward with the same mindset.
Aberdeen should face Dundee focusing on how well they performed in the 16-game unbeaten run before the semi-final, and not linger on the 6-0 defeat.
Manager Thelin said after the semi-final his players must retain belief.
And that must be the approach, as Aberdeen must not let their loss to Celtic hinder their form or confidence going forward.
Aberdeen will go three points clear at the top of the Premiership table if they win against Dundee on Saturday.
It might only be for fewer than 24 hours as Celtic are not in action until Sunday.
But going to the top of the league would be an ideal way to bounce back.
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