Aberdeen defender Alexander Jensen insists his side have everything to play for as they bid for Scottish Cup glory and a return to European football.
The Dons booked their place in the cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win against Dunfermline on Sunday.
The victory was the first home win at Pittodrie in 2025, and lifted the gloom following a wretched run of results for the club in the league which has seen them drop to fourth in the Scottish Premiership after going 14 games without a win.
But with his side just two points behind third-placed Dundee United and one game away from a return to Hampden, Jensen knows there is still plenty of scope for success at Pittodrie this term.
The Dane said: “We have everything to play for, even though we haven’t won in the league recently.
“There are a lot of opportunities and we need to keep improving and believing in ourselves.
“I think we will do that.”
The pressure had been building at Pittodrie due to the club’s alarming poor run – but Jensen says the only weight of expectation among the squad is from the players and coaching staff themselves.
He said: “Of course, you always want to win matches. There is a pressure to start with the performances and if we do that then results will come.
“I don’t feel the pressure, and more the pressure from ourselves – because we want to do better.”
“We need to keep improving in training, doing what we need and keep focusing on ourselves, because it is a good squad.
“We want to build the confidence again. I feel the spirit that everybody wants to get better.
“We push each other in training and we need to keep doing that and ensure the wins keep coming in the league.”
Jensen hungry for more goals
Jensen opened his account for the club when he fired home the second goal in the 3-0 win against the Pars at Pittodrie on Sunday.
The former IF Brommapojkarna utility player’s attacking play was a highlight of a comprehensive win for Aberdeen against their Championship opponents and the 23-year-old is eager to contribute more.
He said: “I actually took a bit of a bad touch that took it outside, but sometimes it can help when it is a bit bad, and the shot has gone through. It was good to see.
“I have some lucky strikes at times – I would love to add to that to score more goals.
“Maybe I could do that here. It would be a good sign.”
‘If we keep doing this it will turn around’
The victory against Dunfermline featured the first Aberdeen goals at Pittodrie since Kevin Nisbet netted in a 2-1 defeat to Ross County on January 2.
However, Jensen believes more goals – and league points – will follow if the Dons can maintain the standard set on Sunday.
He said: “I think if we keep doing this, pushing each other, then it will soon turn around and we will get some victories – hopefully.
“I feel we had a great training week. We strive to get better every day as a squad.
“In the last two games in the league I had a good feeling.
“We controlled the game on the pitch, but we struggled in the last third to be really dangerous.
“We had a lot of the ball and were passing too much around.
“We spoke about how we had to be more direct and dangerous – I think we did that very well on Sunday.”
Positive signs but Jensen believes Dons can still improve
Jensen’s goal came early in the second half to double Aberdeen’s lead and followed Pape Habib Gueye’s headed opener in first-half stoppage time.
Jensen believes the timing of the goals was crucial in securing a place in the last-eight of the cup.
He said: “It was great that we scored just before half-time. It gave us a lot of confidence and kept us going in the second half.
“We scored in two good moments – at the end of the first half and start of the second. It was good for us.
“We did what we had talked about the whole week.
“Of course, there are things you can do better and there were things we could improve, but it was a step in the right direction.”
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