Dons boss Jimmy Thelin spoke to the media to preview our game against Hearts at Pittodrie on Sunday. RedTV subscribers can watch in full by clicking here.

(On Nicky Devlin) “You can never stop learning, there’s always something to learn and improve on, wherever you are in your career and how old or how young you are. The hunger he shows, when he trains so well, every training session, and then he performs in the games. So, everybody in here is so happy for him, and it’s going to be a nice experience for him.

“This is a player (Pape Gueye), a human who worked so hard, he was on loan, then came back and had a great start and was playing with a smile on his face, in the training sessions and in the games, and then he scored really important goals. He also helped us with how we defend and contributed to the energy of the team. So, of course it was a tough thing that happened to him, but he’s on his way back now from his surgery in London. He still is a really positive guy, and we have a really good medical team here and a lot of support from us. Sometimes you can be strong in the situations, and I am 100% sure he will do that.

“Football is about emotions. I’m glad that good people and good coaches get recognition, and that says a lot about the environment we have here. I am also really happy that Peter stays. Of course we don’t want to much change during a season, but we also keep trusting the people who work here. Sometimes things can happen, and someone feels it’s time to move. But in this case, you want to stay, and it’s good for everyone.

“As I told you before, it’s so early in the season, and I am not thinking about the past or how much the gap is to other teams so early on. We have a lot of games to play, our only focus is this game and also how well they have performed in the last two games. Liam (Fox) has made some changes; he has added some good things to their team. So, we need to be 100% prepared for the game on Sunday. we can talk about the table, when we have one game to play at the end of the season, but not now.

“The guys who are injured for a long time are out for Sunday, otherwise, everybody’s healthy and ready.

“Hearts have done good things, and it was a good result for them yesterday. It was a late goal, so, good for them, but it does not change our preparation and how we think about the game. They have a good squad; they have a good coach. They have good ideas. Today we went through some things in the video session and with the players on the pitch, and tomorrow we will do the same. it’s the same routines for us, we try to keep our hunger high and, how we want to play. That’s football sometimes. Everything can turn really quick in football. It’s difficult to say the reason sometimes for a team to be struggling, but I think they have showed in the last two games they have good things inside the team and have good ideas, and let’s see what happens. Yesterday, they showed some things, in the early stages how they want to attack the space and how they work with crosses. They also have good players. I think it’s going to be a tough, tight game, but it’s also going to be full house at Pittodrie, so we are so happy with that. We’re looking forward to the game.

“Graeme is a clever player, and he has a lot of running in his legs, he’s a good, competitive player on the pitch, and he take responsibility. We change the positions, but he adapts quick and does good things. Sometimes, you have a plan before the game, but sometimes the game tells you what you have to do: You have to adapt and change when the opponent gets momentum. They were strong in the 2nd ball, so we don’t really find a way out. That can happen sometimes, but the way that the team defended in a low block they did it really well. And of course, the counterattack is always important. I’m happy with the transitions and counter attacks, so we just keep working on that.

“It’s really important having a full Pittodrie on Sunday. It says so much about the atmosphere, not only at Pittodrie but in the city, the feelings around the football club and the city, and the togetherness. The players are excited and so are the supporters, so hopefully, we can show that on the pitch. For me, it’s like you always have to grow as a club to be competitive in the long term. You have to add more things. Every department has to be the best, and it’s not only the football team. It’s everything together with the power of the football club. It is long term, not only one season or some moments. We have to keep growing and do it together.”