Jimmy Thelin spoke to the media on Monday afternoon ahead of our game against Hibernian in Edinburgh on Tuesday night. RedTV subscribers can watch in full here.
“We had a good chat with the staff and the players. We always do things together when we want to talk about some parts. For us, the thing we were not happy with was the performance. Of course, the result is always important, but for us, it’s more about the performance. In the first 20–25 minutes of the game, we were not happy with how we performed, how we acted as a team. It’s about the identity we want to show our supporters and ourselves. What we want to build into our DNA is how we act in certain situations and how we want to start games, especially against difficult teams away from home. That’s what we’ll focus on—the first 20 minutes of the game.”
“After that, the game went how it went. We did some good things in the second half, had some parts of momentum. But sometimes the ball goes in, and sometimes it doesn’t. St Mirren also did good things in transition and created situations from that. So, we have to keep moving, think about the next game, and leave this behind. However, we do need to address the first 20 minutes because that was not the way we want to act as a team.”
“The season is long. We always take it game by game. We’re going to win some games, lose some, and draw some. We’re not alone in the league; there are a lot of good teams. I don’t think this will impact our belief or behaviour. From day one, this has been a long-term process, and nothing has changed in that. We still have things to work on, like being more stable in certain parts of our game. For example, how we started the game against St Mirren. That’s the first step in our journey—to become more consistent. Once we achieve that, we can add more to our game model and identity. But we’re not there yet. Consistency is key, and that’s what we’ll keep focusing on that, trying to improve week by week.”
“I also believe no player or human being is fixed. Everyone can grow and learn—myself, my staff, the players, everyone. That’s the most important thing: having a positive mindset. Challenges come in football and life, but it’s about how you act and find solutions. That’s the kind of environment we want to create—one where we grow and be better versions of ourselves.”
“Personally, I don’t believe in using situations like the one at Hibernian to our advantage. It’s more important to focus on what we do; we don’t think about their situation. It is more important what we do. I’m sure their manager is a hard worker and is trying to find solutions. Most important for me is how we want to act.”
“Angus is still going to miss one more game because he couldn’t train fully today, so he won’t be in the squad. Otherwise, we’ll travel with 21 players again.”
“For me, it doesn’t matter if it’s home or away. It’s still a game, and there are still three points. We need a good performance, and we still want to improve parts of our game. It is a good challenge for us. Hopefully lots of supporters come to watch us, because this is a journey we are on together. We love to play at Pittodrie, but we know there is going to be lots of away games. We try to create our identity in every match, maybe at home you see more of this but in away games we have to try to and put our things on the pitch, get the timing, and the belief gets stronger and stronger, so it is no different for us.”
“The changes we made at halftime weren’t about Ester and Clarky. We weren’t arriving behind their defensive line and were stuck in front of it, losing the ball and giving them momentum, so we needed a different kind of player. It was more about trying to find another way, we adjusted to be more direct in the second half, which allowed us to arrive in the box.”
“With the intense schedule we’re in now, you’ll probably see changes in the starting XI, how we use the players, maybe tomorrow maybe not, but it will happen. It’s a good opportunity for players who haven’t played as much to show what they can do, because I know they are ready. It’s about finding the right energy and timing because it’s not just about tactics during an intense schedule—it’s also about maintaining high energy levels, so we can be true to ourselves.”
“When you start a new season, you want to get a core to be stable. However, the improvement of players like Jimmy McGarry and Jack Milne has been really good, and how they grow into it. Jack has had to play both centre-back and full-back, and I see him growing in understanding the game, it is a huge improvement. Jimmy has been strong in attack and is improving in his positional play in a four-back line, when it’s their time, I trust them 100%. They’ve shown consistent improvement in training, in 11 v 11’s, and that’s really positive. That is so nice with football, sometimes things happen and the dynamic changes, and I am 100% sure they will be fine when they get the chance to play.”
“Hibernian has had good performances, they’ve created good opportunities, and then have some goals against them, so I think they are a good team. They have strong individual players with high tactical mindset. If you just look at the table, you might underestimate them, but that would be a mistake. They’re a good team, and we’ll need to be sharp.”
“Every game is unique. You can’t think about what’s happened, or the past. I think if you think like that then it doesn’t go well. We have to be 100% prepared, respect the opponent, respect the work they are doing, and be really prepared. Every game goes in waves, you have the momentum, the opponent has the momentum, and then it is about how you survive there’s and try and stretch yours, but I think tomorrow we are going to see a different approach from our players on how we start the game compared to Saturday.”
“Winning mentality isn’t just about results; it’s about how you train, prepare, push each other, and how build team spirit. It is the responsibility of everyone at the club. It’s about showing up at your best every week- and then you have an opponent on the other side. For me that is the winning mentality. It is about everyone giving everything they have. For me that is the winning mentality, everyone is giving everything to be the best version of ourselves. We have to try, and we have to find ways to survive the opponents challenges and find the effort to find the winning goal. It’s also about maintaining consistency from August to May. That’s the key to a winning mentality – you have to remember the core values, we have inside the dressing room, and how we want to show ourselves. Tomorrow is another game, there is three points to fight for, and we are going to do everything we can to take the three points.”
