With the Dons’ desperate run now stretching back two months, and dreams of finishing at least in runners-up place having utterly evaporated, Jimmy Thelin has a massive January transfer window ahead of him.
Ten without a win, five straight defeats – the joint worst sequence of any team in the Premiership this season (along with Hearts) – have meant the astonishing success of his first four months is now a fast fading memory.
Since the victory over Dundee on November 9, Aberdeen have collected just three points out of 30, and the next two league games, at home to Hearts and away to Rangers, will be testing.
If the recent trend continues, the following fixture, the Scottish Cup trip to high-flying Elgin City, will feel a lot more daunting than it did when the draw was made.
Jimmy’s first bit of business was to bring in someone he knows well, Danish winger Jeppe Okkels, followed by the Latvian captain Kristen Tobers, and I would expect a couple more arrivals in the coming weeks. The evidence of the last few months suggests that is imperative, but as has become apparent over the years, January can be a tricky window to unearth gems.
It therefore makes sense to identify players you have previously worked with, and feel you can trust – which the manager has done with Jeppe – or those you have come up against, like the Brommapojkarna defender Alexander Jensen, who Jimmy has apparently been tracking.
Both he, and Tobers, were more obvious targets given the defensive frailties which have been on show, and landing the latter proved that was a priority for the manager.
With injuries, loss of form and suspension all inhibiting selection right now, the manager has a huge task on his hands, and desperately needs better options. He was not helped by Slobodan Rubezic’s latest crazy antics at Motherwell, the Montenegrin again confirming that he will not be the long-term answer.
As well as addressing the defensive problems, Jimmy will also have been taking a very close look at his attack.
Although the arrival of another wide man would not have been top of most supporters’ wish-lists, Okkels might help on that front if he can recapture his form at Elfsborg where he produced impressive goal and assist statistics.
More than anything, what the Dons need is an out-and-out goalscorer.
Of the strikers at the club, Ester Sokler has scored seven, Papa Gueye six, Kevin Nisbet five and Peter Ambrose two.
Sokler is now out long-term while Gueye has been missing since September, Nisbet has failed to reproduce the numbers he consistently reeled off at Raith Rovers, Dunfermline and Hibernian, and Ambrose has so far shown nothing to suggest he will make a significant impact at Pittodrie.
There are no other internal options with Alfie Bavidge again out on loan and Fletcher Boyd apparently out of the picture, but in any case, what Aberdeen need is a marksman proven at this level.
Unfortunately, virtually every other club is looking for the same, and such players come at a premium, particularly in January.
It will not be easy, but if the Dons can pull it off, it will have a significant bearing on hopes for the remainder of the campaign.
Scottish sides struggling to make an impact in Europe
There was an interesting study on the BBC website this week, one which highlighted the drop in Scottish football fortunes on the continent in recent seasons, and just how difficult it will be for our clubs to make an impact in the European competitions going forward.
Outwith Celtic and Rangers, none of our sides has done anything on that front for years.
Hearts were ideally placed to make progress in the Conference League this time round, but blew it after winning their first two matches; an all too familiar story.
Of the Glasgow teams, Celtic will clinch a Champions League play-off place if they beat Young Boys later this month while Rangers could yet secure automatic progression in the Europa League.
Even that might not have a significant enough bearing on our coefficient, and the likelihood is our clubs will face even longer, more hazardous, routes to qualify in the coming seasons.
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