Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin praised his side for coming through a difficult first half to eventually defeat Livingston this afternoon.

“Livingston were really good in the first half. They played with a lot of movement and made it really difficult for us. We were not defending so close together, but it’s also because Livingston did a lot of good things.

“It’s not always just talking about us, they did really well, they created some good chances and Dimi had some good blocks that helped us to stay in the game and survive the first half. That’s also a skill sometimes, don’t get too stressed in that moment because if you do, the goals come and the game is gone.

“We were too spread out and open in the first half. We had to close some more important areas for us to help us to go into the game and be much more compact. The players did that and slowly got into the game.

“We stayed in the game, and in the second half, we were more stable and more balanced. We also make some subs, and today I think they had much more impact into the game, coming in with a lot of energy and that helped us to take all the three points.

“This mentality we have is building and the team has come together after a really tough start to the league. It’s not always the best game, but we find ways to win games and we have to keep building on this now and keep improving.

“You always want to play well and score loads of goals and pick up wins that way, but it is almost more satisfying in a way when you have used a different side to your game when you come to places like this and grind it out. We also have to remember it’s a game every third day.

“We need to get through this period with as many points as possible and be stable and play as smart as we can and share the energy and share the responsibility of the team. We try to make changes, but not too many at the same time, because then we lose the connections. 

“In the end, I think the players did well. It’s not easy, but it was a tough game on Thursday and then come here and the game started like it did. But we still stayed in there. It says a lot about the character of the players, but also the supporters were important in the second half. They give a lot of passion and energy to the players and that also makes it easier for us to go to the next game. 

“We always think game by game, because every game in this league is so tough and the teams are all playing a bit different, but they are good at what they are doing. We have always had to be focused on the next game. But we are stable in how we defend and we’re trying to grow in the way of attacking and taking step by step from there. We have things to improve and we need to be humble and focus on the right things, but we are happy for the result we have now.”