The Dons fell to a cruel late defeat at Fir Park, but manager Jimmy Thelin made it clear that he saw plenty of signs of improvement from his team.
“I said after the Dundee United game that the way we were competing in 50-50 duels or competing to arrive to the box and try to score a goal was not good enough so far in the season. I think the fans can feel that today the effort was back, the energy was back, how we arrived to the box, how we defended as a team. We did a lot of good things today as a performance wise but the result is still the same, it’s 2-0.
“It’s not easy to talk about anything positive right now because you have one point on the table, you have scored zero goals. If you think about the chances we have this season and it’s still zero goals, it’s incredible. They are good chances. That’s why you have to keep believing. The players are trying so hard. The staff, myself, we’re trying so hard.
“If you think about the game it’s a really tough thing to take, it’s a big hit for everyone when you do so much effort to not deserve to lose this game. Right now we are in this moment where sometimes you can do a lot of things right but you need a moment when you hit the post but then it’s bounces into the goal instead of away, and you turn things around and can build on this energy.
“Now we have to step up tomorrow and keep our heads high and try to build on the good things today. We changed some parts in the system, we promised our fans that they should feel that we are pushing so hard for them. We want to be more compact and have more players central of the pitch to arrive into better chances. I think the way we set up the team today shows some positive things that we can use in the future.
“We wanted the fans to feel the connection with the team again, that we can run and fight and do all the basic things and I think all the players did that today, so it’s really, really tough to lose this game.
“Today I saw all the things that you need as a good football team, as a more collective team, it was not 11 individual players, it was a team who tried, who were wearing the shirts with pride. We should not hide from the result today, it’s a tough one, but I think they gave everything they could today so that’s why I have a strong belief that we can turn this around.
“You have to be strong and have the belief and energy to do your job every day and push forward because that’s my responsibility. You have to be strong and do your job every day.
“I think the first five minutes we arrived to the box in a good way and created some opportunities. Then, of course, Motherwell is a good team and they have their moments also. But then in the last 20, the fans were behind the team and they were pushing so hard and we really tried to win this game. We were not afraid or hiding.
“The players did everything they could today to take some points back to Aberdeen today. That’s why I have this conviction that we’re going to turn it around. If they went out today and didn’t want the ball, they’re hiding, they’re not running for each other, that would be a problem, but they didn’t. They did everything they could to get something from this game and then in the last minute they lose everything so that’s a really tough result to get against you.”
