Jimmy Thelin focused on the trust his players have in one another and in the team’s style of play when he spoke to the press after the 1-0 win over Hibs at Pittodrie.
“The trust the players show in each other, trying to be consistent in the games and trusting the way we play is really important. Hibs are a good team, they are really fast in transitions, when they pick up the second ball, how they attack the opponents after that, so we had to be concentrated the whole game.
“I’m so proud how the team can stay in a game when Hibs are having good moments, and give us the chance to win the game. It’s much more mature in some areas right now but next week is another game again and it’s different opponents, so we have to try to focus on our performance and stay on that level because we’re going to need it the rest of the season.
“The matureness, how we managed the game in the last minutes was really nice to see. It is good also that we have so many players who are back and available and they bring other qualities to the team when we need it.
“Everybody is focused on the right things because the pressure has been on us for a while. We know to qualify for Europe we have to win a lot of games until the end of the season so it’s no different, we have been under this pressure for a while now. We focus on our performance and the way we play.
“We are building a trust among each other and everybody is ready to perform. I think we started the game really well, how we attacked them and tried to get behind them. Then the second half, they started better and then the momentum changed again, but this is the part of our journey. We had quite a lot of games this year winning late on and that’s from the trust we have for each other. We’re trying to be stable but still have an extra push when we change the players.
“Then we found that push and scored a super goal. Just the idea to find a way to take a shot in that moment was so good. Kevin has scored some similar goals this season, so he is a real asset for us when the games are so tight and you need your goalscorers.
“We need the fans too. The supporters have been great all season, but particularly when you’re winning 1-0 or a tight game, the emotions are so high and the fans, everybody is singing and the players are responding. Dante comes into the game and he raises everything, the emotions, by appealing to the fans. The whole season the fans have pushed us through and we’re going to need them in every game from now on.”
