Jimmy Thelin spoke to the media at Cormack Park this afternoon ahead of our match against St Johnstone tomorrow afternoon. RedTV subscribers can watch his press conference by clicking here.

“It’s good to have another game now, again at home. I think the energy was really good in the session today. It’s been a good recovery from the last game, so I think we’re in good shape, in a good place, and it’s nice to play at home again.

“I think it’s more for us in the staff (when asked about managing the busy schedule). We have a good group of staff that focuses on load management and tries to do the best possible job so we still have the rhythm inside the team and ensuring players stay fresh, avoiding injuries where we can. For us, it’s about staying optimistic and positive about the schedule, and finding as much energy as possible.

“I always think we have to have a strong belief in what we’re doing and stay optimistic. It’s not over until it’s over. The season is our target, and we try to grow. Nothing has really changed for us—it’s still a long-term journey, and we take it game by game. We’ll know where we stand in May, but we always have we push 100% for each game, be ready and try and always be better.

“It’s important to remember that there are no easy games in this league. It’s a very competitive league with different styles and different identities. You always have to be ready to go out again and compete. It is about being competitive and not thinking If you lose a game, you can’t feel sad, you need to look for the next game as games come quickly. You can’t stay in the past, you have to focus on the next challenge and the three points that we need to fight for.

“I think we’re still in an early stage of evolving, we can be a bit better at how we manage different kinds of games, because certain games are different. Step by step, we’re maturing in our approach. You can see our identity – how we want to play, the energy we want to play with, the intensity we are searching for – all of this is coming step by step.

“St Johnstone have been doing well. The new manager has changed some parts and added parts that he wants, he’s brought some clear changes and added his ideas to the team’s identity. They have a lot of strength in how they want to play, crosses, transitions, how they build-up. It won’t be an easy game, but it’s up to us to be the best we can be and take on the challenge and go out with the energy and use the atmosphere of playing at Pittodrie to take the points.

“It’s more or less the same squad as the last game. No major changes. Jack MacKenzie trained today, but it’s too early to risk anything. We don’t want a setback, especially now we will have some days before the next game, so he can recover really well, and be ready for the coming games.

“Ross has done really well. It’s not an easy position to step into, but how we performed when he came on at half-time against Hearts and also against Celtic, he’s shown responsibility and quality. He’s been positive for the team, we also trust Tom Ritchie—he’s been training well, and then we will see how long recovery will be for Dimi, but the responsibility and the quality that Ross has shown has been really pleasing.

“It’s part of the game, it is a part of reality. That’s why it is important to have the team spirit and preparation. Now is not much time to train but we saw in pre-season and the early stage of the season Everyone needs to stay focused because you never know when opportunities can come to you as a player. Having the spirit in the team to trust each other, so they are ready when the time comes to play. I show trust in them, so they have performed well, which I think is a good sign about how we work here. It’s not easy with such a tight schedule, it is more about recover quick and then focus on the next 90 minutes, but so far, so good.

“Simo Valakari has done a great job utilizing the squad’s qualities and implementing his identity. We’re prepared, we know it is going to be a tough game, but we’re ready and it is going to be a good game.

“The expectations are always high, this club is ambitious, and nothing has changed. We want to qualify for European competitions, and have the European games in the future, but it’s about building long-term. We go game by game, and nothing is changing – we can’t focus on the games we have played, we focus on the next game, another three points we have to fight for. If we have a good performance, then hopefully we get a good result. We have to be short term – they are all important games, tomorrow and the other games We will give everything tomorrow, and hopefully we can be stable and keep performing well.

“Dante is a quality player, but he has to come into the team step by step to avoid setbacks. He has shown good qualities in training and the 15 minutes he played last game. It is just about managing his load now, so he can be ready to compete for more after the break we will have where we can train more, so step by step and he will be a great asset when he’s fully ready. I think he is good at arriving in the box and good finishing with his left or his right foot. He is comfortable playing in small areas around the opponents box when they play a low block, but he also has the size to arrive against crosses, so there is a lot he can bring when he is 100% ready.

“We have to separate performance and results sometimes. The thing we learnt from St Mirren is about how we attack, it is quite clear what we did wrong in that game, and then the games against Hibernian and Hearts were quite open, but also, we have an opponent who do things well also. Celtic was good pressing, and good intensity, but the next thing for us is to be better with the ball in some areas when the game is going quick, but also it was a tight game, and they had to bring a really good moment to finish the game, in the end it was the detail. If we can bring the intensity that we had against Celtic more often, of course it is different if they play a second ball game it is not going to be a pressing game, but it is what we do in these moments, we get tested, and we improve from these games. Hopefully we can be more stable and more effective in some parts of the game.