Despite the defeat against Strasbourg that means the Dons cannot progress further in Europe this season, Jimmy Thelin was proud if his team’s performance and particularly the distance the side have travelled since the start of the campaign.
“If I look at how the team has grown from the first game in Europe to this one, I think we’re a different team right now. It’s more mature and stable. I’m proud of the players, how they tried. We showed our fans from minute one that we really, really want to win this game, but they’re a good team, they have good quality.
“I’m proud of my team, how they have grown during the season. If you compare with the FCSB game or Shakhtar or Athens, we were more open then. The Larnaca game is a good away game. This game today was also a good performance. We have grown a lot, but of course right now we’re not happy with the result.
“How we started the game today was really good, the pressing and interceptions in the beginning, we created some good chances from there. The set plays were strong. I think the team has grown a lot and learned a lot, but there are small margins. You have to use your chances. It’s not easy, but there are the situations you need to score. When they get the goal, it was a small chance, but they used it and they got that goal they needed.
“Marko and Adil, they were so close, but the goalkeeper was there or the defender blocked. The game is so tight and you need to be focused on all these moments, defending and attacking. It’s so important as a football team and as a football player to push yourself to the limit, but also manage these games in a good way. I think we keep learning and keep improving.
“We saw it when we got the draw for our games that they are strong teams and of course, you always need a little bit of luck in the draw, and we did not get this. But on the other hand, we played against a lot of good teams and we as a club and a team, we learn a lot and we know what we need to do in the future to get better, to get to that level. You have to bring the learning points about what we need to focus on to take one more step so we can challenge even stronger in the future.”
The Dons might have had two or three goals in the first half, but Dimitar Mitov was called on to produce some terrific saves after the break.
“Dimi did really well. There was some deflection from Jack there for the one save, which was incredible. Of course the penalty save too, and some other things he did also. He has been good all the time, we’re really proud of him and he’s a good goalkeeper.”
The Dons produced a tactical change before the game with Stuart Armstrong dropping deeper in midfield in place of Dante Polvara, as Jimmy explained.
“Playing Stuart deeper instead of Dante in one way was tactical, how we want to control the game. We know that Strasbourg is really strong with the ball and they keep the ball and we wanted to balance that a little bit, but also take care of Dante. He has played a lot of games now and he hasn’t played a lot before. He had this injury last season, and we wanted to manage his time, but also today, it was a tactical point.”
The Dons return to league duties on Sunday against Kilmarnock, with the manager looking for his side to continue their fine recent form in the SPFL Premiership.
“I like the intensity that we showed today and I think we did it also really good against Dundee in some parts of the game as well. Today we maybe did it for most parts of the game. Some part on the second half we went a bit too deep and they got space between our lines and they used it. But in this game we were more compact and intense in our pressing.
“We play so many games and we have a really ambitious squad. There is always some rotation, but also we need to keep the stability and connections inside the team. Then other players will grow into the team during the season. We want to have energy the whole season and keep improving.
“In our league, it is always difficult games. Everybody plays a bit different, they have their strengths, so we have to be really focused again and recover quick now for Sunday. We’re going to attack the game in a good way, but we have to be super sharp to perform so we can earn a good result.”
