Ahead of our trip to Ibrox this Sunday, manager Jimmy Thelin spoke to the media on Friday lunchtime to preview the game.

RedTV subscribers are able to watch the press conference in full by clicking here.

“It’s still our aim to arrive to Europe and nothing has really changed in our mentality, what we want to achieve. We have to go there and try to be the best we can be, and make a good performance. We then deserve the result. I think the team is ready. It’s a good game to play now, we have this tight schedule. We’re just focused game by game. The energy is high. Everybody is more or less available. Everybody’s training except Ester and Sivert. The focus is in the right space.

“We will manage Alexander but he is training fully today, and we have three games this week, so let’s see how much he can tolerate, but we have a good squad, and everybody else is ready.”

The last time v Rangers

“You can’t look back. You have a lot of games and if you look back you think maybe I should’ve done different there, etc. You can’t do that when you’re in the middle of the season. You have to always put all of the energy you have on what is in front of you and try to do the best with that, because you can not look back and have too many regrets. You can always learn. You can improve, but you can’t regret things and think about that. You have to focus on what is in front of you right now.

“For us it’s important we also get better. Rangers are doing well. They are ahead of us in the table and in the future, we want to be better and better every season, and the best way to do that is to play against the good teams and try to be better all of the time. It’s a good game right now, so we can push ourselves and perform really well and try to get the result.”

Looking ahead to Sunday

“The games between Rangers and Aberdeen is always big and important for both teams. I don’t think they’re going to feel anything like they are not connected with the game or whatever. I think it is still a really exciting game to play.

“They changed a little bit, they played with the four again, in the game against Celtic. I think it’s going to be quite an intense, not open game, but maybe a transition game in one way, but two teams I think who want to attack a lot.”

The Final Weeks of the Season

“The last part of the season now, we have more or less everybody available. In some parts of the season a lot of players have been out with injuries. I think it’s a positive. There is a good competition right now and that’s what we need, because still, we have important league games to play but I think, of course, maybe the Cup Final is there somewhere, and they think about it, but everybody’s competing really well now, and that’s exactly what we need and let’s see who is playing in that game.

“It’s an exciting week (with three league games in a week), but we have to focus on game by game. We know we need the points, so the performance has to be really top, and the effort has to be there, and the belief that we can do it. We take the Rangers game first, and then we know we have the other games, but all the energy is right now on that one.”

Manager of the Month Award

“That’s a reward for the work you’re doing inside the club. My job as a manager is to make everyone feel important, that they have a big role to play. I think the manager is one thing, but then it’s  teamwork, a collective game football, but also around the team, with all the support and the atmosphere here at Cormack Park or Pittodrie. It’s a good prize to share with everyone. This is the energy we want to create, and hopefully this can help us to keep pushing.”

Set-up v St Mirren

“We wanted to go more behind. St Mirren are really good when they go high and pressing. The last time we played them, we didn’t get behind them so much. We tried in this game, but it didn’t go as well as we wanted. Of course there were other reasons why we didn’t win this game and St Mirren did well. We didn’t find these really, really sharp chances in the game. It was quite a tight game, but we wanted to get more behind them.”

 

Young Dons out on loan

“We’re going to evaluate the whole squad, like I said before, after the Cup Final. We’re going to be more clear about the squad for next season, but I’m happy the loans worked well, and then we’re going to see the bigger picture, how we want to balance the squad for next season. It’s good that they get game time, and also says a lot about our youth department, how good the work with these players is and contributing to these teams. So I’m happy that they can expose themselves on this level.”