Jimmy Thelin spoke to the media on Tuesday lunchtime to preview our William Hill Premiership match with Kilmarnock.

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Appointment of Lutz Pfannenstiel as Sporting Director

“Myself and Lutz have spoken about how we look going forward, and we have some ideas. I’m looking forward to seeing him when he arrives here.

“As I said before, we are totally aligned with what we want to do. We always need to help each other to achieve our goals when we work for this club, and where we want to be in the future. Nothing has changed in that we’re building a team, that’s why we put it on three years.

“We don’t expect to drop as we have done now in the performances. We’re hoping for a little bit better results than we’ve achieved so far. It’s more about the inconsistency in our performance, that it’s so up and down. We need to find a way to keep this tactical discipline and balance on the pitch, because sometimes we have really, really stable games against Dundee and St Mirren, a tough away game.

“Some days after we lose the structure of the team so quick, and these kind of things we keep working with and supporting each other. My job is trying to find a way to keep this balance and tactical discipline in these games. Especially when you’re on this period when there’s a little bit more pressure and the result is not coming, and these kind of thing. We were expecting a little bit more of a stable start to this season than we have right now.

“Some of the young players we have signed this summer, they’re making steps all the time, and we have invested in these players, and we see a good future for them, and also to contribute to the team in the future. There is no excuses about the performance we have right now.”

Seeking improvements

“We are talking about a lot of things (with the Chairman) but we are together and aligned with what we want to achieve. We want the best for Aberdeen Football Club. We want to perform better what we’re doing right now and my job as a manager with my staff and the players is trying to find, how can we create the best team of this group of players we have right now? How can we be more consistent? How can we make this work and find a solution for this.

“We felt there were some better improvements when we changed the balance of the team a little bit with the formation, that’s the disappointment, when we’re dropping in these areas in these last two games. I still believe that we’re going to find a good performance and start taking points and get over to the other side and start winning games more consistently. It’s more about the performance level that we are a little bit too inconsistent in our performance.

“It’s still a competitive game, and this is a part of football that you have to in some moment of your career, understand how important it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Scotland or somewhere else. This is because you’re always 11 versus 11, and if you lose too many one against one over the pitch, then it’s difficult, whatever system you have, whatever formation you use. So this is a thing we are working really hard on, and really trying to get the next step there.”

Understanding frustrations

“It’s a super emotional sport and you have to understand the supporters when we have these kind of inconsistent performances, and you feel that you’re on the right track, and then you drop two steps again, and don’t get get the rhythm.

“As a manager and the people who are working with the recruitment and working with the team, the players, we have to take rational decision making and not emotional ones. The passion still has to be on the pitch. If you play football, you can have a tactical system, you have tactical discipline, but without passion is nothing. And if it’s only passion, without the structure and the tactical discipline is also nothing. We have to find a way to to use the passion and the way we want to play the tactical discipline, but don’t get too emotional in some moments that we do really strange things on the pitch, and that’s the thing we need to find this way to be more stable as a team.”

Scoring when on top

“In most of the games, we have started the games really well, and when we have momentum we don’t score, and then we get one goal against us, and then we start stressing way too early in the game, and lose the structure of the team. This is a thing we have to work on and keep working on, and that’s why I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow. I still have a strong belief that we can manage this and fix this but sometimes we have to mature more as a group and use our skills better together on the pitch and help each other better, a little bit better, to support each other on the pitch. That’s my job, again, to find this balance, to get this more consistency.

“If you go one game you win, and then next game you lose against Athens, and then you go into the next game, people really think we could show better than we did. This is a part of football, to be stable over a season. That’s one of the most important skill you have as a professional player. Can you be consistent from the start of the season to the end of the season, going to have some drops, but can you stay on six, seven or 10, and don’t sometimes 10 out of 10, and then drop to two out of 10. We have to support our players, and I need to help them even more to get this balance.”

Team news

“We have some players. I think it’s a couple of players. We need to make a decision tomorrow from the last game, they have some issues. We will see on Alfie tomorrow and Gyamfi the earliest is the Larnaca game away, that’s the plan for him.”

Kilmarnock

“There are no easy games, and it’s also a competitive game. They play in a certain way that we need to manage. The opponent plays exactly in their strengths and what they want, and that’s what we need to be up for this fighting spirit, this 50/50 situation. You don’t need to win every situation, but you can’t lose them. What we mean by that is the ball and the player get out. So we have to find a way to be more competitive inside the game, because it doesn’t matter the structure and the shape and the system. If we lose too many 50/50s, or one against one, then there are problems. Then they’re going to get overloads all over the pitch, that is not a good way for us. So that’s one part. And then, of course, when we have the ball be more composure with the ball in some moments, because the chances are there, you can’t say  you have to score and anything’s happened, so you have to keep creating the chances, but be more ready when the chances arrive.

“Everybody has seen the Hibs game, the players have seen the game, and it was just too easy. I think everybody feels after the game that we need to find a way that the players give a little bit more for each other. I think they have a good spirit. It’s not so much about sitting here and talking more. We need to show our fans they are traveling. There were 18,000 people at the last game. Who are we playing for? Why are we here? That’s that’s so important to take this responsibility that I talk about individual responsibility, I will take my responsibility. I’m responsible for all the results, but also, as an individual in the team, you also have take responsibility for your role. You are working for this club right now, and we need to do this part better. The competitive side has to be better. And otherwise, football games are super difficult. You can have your tactical understanding, the game understanding, but this competitive side is the starting point, and we can’t miss on this one when we go out and play for our fans.”