Dons boss Jimmy Thelin met with the media at Cormack Park on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday’s game against Celtic at Pittodrie. RedTV subscribers can watch now by clicking here.

“I think football is a game of emotions. We had a lot of our fans there on Sunday. There’s a really strong belief inside the squad. Sometimes, when games don’t go how we want, it’s more about how we perform. We have ideas about what to do when we concede or get into trouble, what we should do and we didn’t do that. That’s what we felt after the game. But since then, you move on, and it’s been positive days now.

“The squad is focused on the next target, the game tomorrow. It’s about managing the game in difficult moments. When the touch isn’t there, when things don’t go how we expect, how can we still have an impact? Which areas do we close? How do we speed up or slow down the game? Those are things we need to do better in future.

“The way we see it, we always try to be better, not just in the future but now. And now we’re playing against the champions at home. We believe in what we can do, and it’s one of the best tests you can have. The hunger and desire inside the squad is really high. We always try to get better performances and evolve as players and as a team.

“We know we’re strong at home. Our supporters will be there, and we want to create something strong together to get the points. I think we’ll see a strong performance tomorrow. It’s been a short few days since the Rangers game, but there’s been good energy and focus on the right things. We leave the disappointment behind, and we try to move on and grow as a team.

“I think we can’t forget the 11 games before Rangers were quite solid, including difficult games. Sometimes you get setbacks, but it’s about how you bounce back. That’s the true quality of a team – how you react. I have a strong belief in this team. Sivert is a good player and a good leader, but also other players have grown. For example, I think Clarkson has improved a lot in a deeper midfield role. When someone’s out, others take responsibility.

“You should never give up. You always have to believe and you have to bring energy into this part of the season. If we want to finish third, there’s no discussion, we know what we have to do. It’s difficult, yes, but you have to believe you can do it. Otherwise, there’s no point in playing. We’re focused on taking this chance now, first, playing at home, then away to Dundee United. But first, it’s all about tomorrow, give everything, show up, and put in a good performance.

“I think it happens sometimes (players playing as individuals). We’ve had some away games where we concede a goal or two, and we lose our identity a bit. It’s not about selfishness, sometimes it’s about players wanting to get back into the game too quickly. Someone might press when it’s not the time to press. Someone might go off in the wrong direction.

“It was a difficult game against Rangers. It wasn’t our best performance, and yes, Rangers did some good things. But it was still 0–0. Then they scored a easy goal. After that, we need to get back to basics, stay in the game, and try to find a way to score a goal. Instead, we disappeared a bit and became quite open as a team. Does that happen every game? No. So I’m not concerned, but that’s what happened in that game.

“The 10 games before that were quite solid. We have the capacity to do good games, and my belief is that we’ll do that tomorrow. The players, the staff, we’re all together. How can we perform together? We’ve had training, video meetings, we learn and grow as a team.

“I have a bad memory, but yes seasons can be like this. It’s always for different reasons. Sometimes you have a lot of squad changes inside the squad, and we have  injuries. We are almost there, but the rhyme is not really there, and then sometimes we don’t get the result over the line. But I think we’re doing a lot of things really good right now as a club. We’re still in a position to achieve something this year.

“It’s been a good start, then a challenging part, and then another good run. A lot of players, have had injuries, and we sign new years, but still we’ve  performed as a team most games. That says a lot about the character in this team, really good players, good people, and they try to do their best every week.

“They’re a good team, they’re champions, and Brendan is a really good manager. But a football game is always a football game. In our best days, when we have the performance, we do our best, and really believe when we go onto the pitch tomorrow, we will show our fans what we want to do, then we always have a good chance to win the game.

“Yes, they’re both available (Alfie Dorrington and Alexander Jensen) again. Alfie’s back. Otherwise it is the normal squad. We will maybe make some changes because it is tight between games and some players need to rest, but the whole squad is available, except for Ester and Sivert.”