Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin insists he will get Jeppe Okkels back to his best at the Dons.
The Danish left winger joined Aberdeen on loan from Preston North End earlier this month with the Dons having an option to make the move permanent if the 25-year-old impresses during his time at Pittodrie.
Okkels has played the last three games for the Dons since arriving in Scotland but has played a peripheral role in his appearances to date.
But Thelin, who worked with Okkels for three years at Elfsborg before selling the player to Dutch side Utrecht a year ago, knows all about what the winger can do and has vowed to get him back to the level which earned him a move to the Netherlands 12 months ago.
The Aberdeen manager said: “I know what he is capable of and I want to help him get back to that level.
”I think for me it’s more to use his strengths here and I think that’s quite easy to adapt to what we want to do here.
“It is not exactly the same as Elfsborg but there are some similarities.
“I know what he can do so I know the player also and I can use him in the best way for the team.”
Dons boss will be patient with Okkels
Okkels played very little football in 2024. A knee injury restricted him to just six appearances for Utrecht before he moved to English Championship side Preston in the summer.
His game time at Deepdale has also been limited with the winger making just 10 appearances for Preston prior to moving to Pittodrie.
Thelin knows it will take time to get Okkels’ fitness up but is prepared to be patient with the player.
The Dons boss said: “He got an injury in Holland.
“He is adapting quickly to the team out on the training pitch but if you haven’t played so much you always have to be a little bit smart in how you load the players.
“I think even if you have a player for six months, the trust has to be there and clear.
“Even if you don’t play, you have to be clear to the player why they don’t play and what they have to do to play.
“I think that’s most important.”
‘I trust Jeppe to bring the quality we need’
It is clear trust is important for the Aberdeen manager and in Okkels Thelin has a player who understands what is expected of him and a boss who knows what he is capable of.
Having watched his side end their 12-game winless run with a 3-0 win at Elgin City in the Scottish Cup at the weekend, Thelin hopes the victory is the first step towards producing the performances which helped the club make such a strong start to the campaign.
The Aberdeen manager believes Okkels has a big role to play in achieving that.
Thelin said: “Sometimes you have to have the trust for everyone because you need the players to grow.
“But they also need to know clearly why they don’t play and when they play, what they have to keep doing to keep playing.
“So that’s why you can raise the standards of the team week by week or season by season.
“If you don’t talk before the emotions come in too much and kidnap you, then you’re dropping the standards.
“So, we need to put some easy things for the players to stick to and it’s easy.
“When we were winning the games, we saw some things that were really good.
“Now I feel the team is taking too much time before we arrive at a good attacking opportunity.
“So that’s the thing we have to speed up.
“Jeppe knows what he wants to do and I think he can bring this quality. That’s the trust he has there.
“Then of course he always has to adapt to new team-mates, new opponents.
“But the basics for him are really easy to adapt to.”
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