Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin believes Ross Doohan has thrived after being thrown in at the deep end this season.
Doohan – who joined the Dons from Forest Green Rovers in the summer of 2023 – made just two appearances for the club last season.
But the 27-year-old made his 18th appearance of this campaign in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Rangers.
Doohan will be in goal in Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts if team-mate, Bulgarian international Dimitar Mitov – who has made 26 appearances so far this term – fails to recover from the shoulder injury he suffered on international duty last month.
Thelin believes Doohan has grown in stature as his playing time has increased in Mitov’s absence.
The Aberdeen boss said: “It’s not easy sometimes when you haven’t played for a long time and suddenly you should be playing a lot of games.
“Soon it is almost 50-50 (in terms of appearances) and he is closing in. The squad has grown with the experience.
“The challenging times this year have helped a lot of players to be more ready for the future also.
“It’s a different reason, but I think more and more players are growing in the costume and performing much better, and that’s also helping us as a team.
“Every year, I think, a season is a squad season. It’s not a starting XI season.”
Contract talks continuing at Pittodrie
Doohan is a free agent in the summer, but the Dons boss is giving nothing away with regards to his goalkeeper’s future at the club.
He said: “Some dialogue is ongoing, but nothing is clear yet.”
Jack MacKenzie has also yet to commit to a new deal at Pittodrie.
The youth academy graduate is also in the final months of his deal with the Dons.
When asked if there was an update on MacKenzie, Thelin said: “No, I think they are talking and the dialogue is there.
“We’ll see in the last week what’s going to happen with the players and our squad.”
‘We’re still in two competitions and we want to do well in both’
Thelin believes the challenges his squad have faced this season will make them stronger moving forward.
The resilience the Dons boss wants will be required for a testing run-in as his side look to shake off the loss of an injury-time equaliser against Rangers on Sunday to overhaul a three-point deficit and pip Hibernian and Dundee United to a third-place finish.
Hibs are the first fixture up when the league games resume on April 26, but right now the Aberdeen manager’s focus is firmly on Saturday’s semi-final against Hearts at Hampden.
Thelin said: “What we’re working for is to cope in all competitions. That’s why we need a strong squad and a strong mentality.
“So, for us, it’s not going to be the cup or the league – we have to go for both. We’re still in two competitions and we want to do well in both.
“We have a really important game on Saturday and a lot of big games still to play this season.
“We have to go to the league again, but right now all our focus is on the semi-final.
“The result on Sunday was not good for us. It’s easy to forget everything when you lose a late goal, and it feels that everything is bad, but there was still a lot of good things.”
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