Aberdeen

Bologna are the latest Italian club to scout Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron, who is out of contract at the end of the season and could be signed for just over £500,000 in training compensation, but interest in the 21-year-old from Cagliari and Sassuolo is subject to them avoiding relegation from Serie A. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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After Sunday's 4-0 victory over Hibernian, Aberdeen welcome the already relegated Livingston to Pittodrie on Wednesday night.

But who should be in the starting line-up for the Dons?

Put yourself in Peter Leven's shoes and pick your XI here.

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Aberdeen fans should temper their optimism ahead of the arrival of Jimmy Thelin to avoid disappointment, says former Dons defender Richard Foster.

The Pittodrie side are unbeaten in their last seven Premiership outings, having won all of their last three, lifting the mood after a difficult campaign.

With a new manager to come in the summer, Foster believes Aberdeen fans should be hopeful, but thinks challenging Hearts for third would be a step too far in the Swede's first year in Scotland.

"They can be optimistic, but I still believe Aberdeen need to be realistic as well, the fans," Foster told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"If you think the manager's going to come in and fight Hearts for third, firstly I think it's quite disrespectful to all the other teams and Hearts themselves, but also, that just heaps huge pressure on another new manager.

"I think if Aberdeen are to finish fourth or fifth next season, that's progress, and then can they build from there? I think they need to give Thelin time.

"Having said that, he might come in and they might really take off and they might go and challenge for third and fourth position. But I think that's a more optimistic viewpoint.

"Just get them playing good football, make Pittodrie a bit of a fortress, make it horrible for teams to go up there and play and look to get into the top six next season.

"And from that you can build. There's no point trying to run before you can walk."

We asked for your thoughts after Aberdeen steamrolled Hibs at Easter Road.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Marti: Firstly, thank you to Peter Leven for a brilliant spell in charge,. Boys were great. Need to give Junior Hoilett another year at least. Bojan Miovski being Bojan Miovski and Dante Polvara has class. Well done to young Fletcher Boyd, dream debut. Finally, our fans are fantastic.

Fred: Really good performance. Why did we not play like this all season? The motivation is now right but too late. Without Neil Warnock, we would be in Europe. Mr Cormack has a lot to answer for and I fear he has made the wrong appointment again. Let's see next season.

Justin: A great result for sure but I think it highlights we should have been top four with the squad we have. Warnock did one thing right as Hoilett has been a great inclusion. Roll on next season.

Mark: Thank the lord that Leven will still be a part of our first team coaching next season. No one knows what to expect from Jimmy Thelin arriving, but I am somewhat comforted in the knowledge that Peter will still be here. Fantastic performance in any case against Hibs. Four brilliant goals, and a massive congratulations to young Boyd.

Anon: Wow! What can I say? This is why I love this team. Leven must stay on board, although I have a feeling he will be hard to keep now.

Kieran: What a result, totally unexpected. I just wish we could keep Miovski but he'll probably leave in the summer. Give Hoilett a new contract, he is looking classy now.

Mike: Starting to click under Leven, wonder if we’ll come to regret not giving him the job permanently?

Daniel: Give Leven a tidy bonus at the end of the season, keep him happy as a coach and hope we don't need him to step into the breach again any time soon.

Paul: Where has team been, seriously? So frustrating knowing they can play like that but just haven't the vast majority of the season. Hopefully the new manager can bring this out in them next year. Peter has got them going, no doubt.

Two midfield maestros from Aberdeen had to be in my team of the week.

Not only did Leighton Clarkson score a fantastic goal himself, he also displayed excellent link-up play for Junior Hoilett's finish and a masterful dummy as Bojan Miovski got on the scoresheet.

The Englishman is reminding everyone he is a mercurial talent, at just 22 as well. He should be a huge player for the Dons next term.

Dante Polvara is just one year older, but is also growing in influence for the Pittodrie outfit.

The talented American took his goal superbly, a moment that will only add to his increasing confidence.

Watch highlights as Aberdeen thrash Hibs in the Scottish Premiership.

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• Aberdeen have scored four goals in a game for the first time since 1 November 2023 against Motherwell (W4-2).

• Aberdeen have beaten Hibernian for the first time in the Scottish Premiership since 4 November 2022, a run of five games without a win.

• Aberdeen have won their last three games in the Scottish Premiership, their last longer winning streak was from 25 February 2023 to 23 April 2023, a run of seven games.

• Aberdeen have kept a clean sheet in each of their last five games in the Scottish Premiership, a run of 577 minutes without conceding a goal.

• The last time Aberdeen went longer without conceding a goal in the Premiership was a run of eight games from 23 November 2014 to 10 January 2015.

Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven: "I said to Leighton [Clarkson] today, 'you need to shoot more'. He's a top player and I've taken the shackles of him in possession and told him to go cause mayhem.

"Fletcher [Boyd] has been brilliant for the under-18s all season, contributed to over 30 goals. He's got a top career in front of him. I've given them that freedom. In possession, I want them to play with a smile on their face."

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Aberdeen cranked up the pressure on Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery with a morale-sapping and emphatic victory at Easter Road in the Scottish Premiership bottom six.

Montgomery was told by the Hibs board last month that results and performances must improve - but the hosts were easily swept aside as Aberdeen recorded a third straight win.

Stunning strikes from Leighton Clarkson and Dante Polvara had the Dons comfortably ahead the break before Bojan Miovski and 16-year-old debutant Fletcher Boyd completed a hammering.

Aberdeen move seventh, top of the bottom six, while Hibs slip to ninth.

What did you make of that, Aberdeen fans? How impressed have you been with Peter Leven? Do you feel better going into next season now?

Let us know your thoughts on the game here.

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Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven told BBC Sportsound: "I always knew there were more goals in us, but I'm really pleased with the clean sheet again.

"Hibs are a dangerous team, we knew that all week. For about 20 minutes we lost our shape, started chasing them. We rectified that at half time and we were so good on the break and we could've scored more.

"I said to Leighton [Clarkson] today 'you need to shoot more'. He's a top player and I've taken the shackles of him in possession and told him to go cause mayhem.

"I've given them that freedom. In possession, I want them to play with a smile on their face. Go and create and entertain. They did that today.

"Fletcher has been brilliant for the under-18s all season, contributed to over 30 goals. He's got a top career in front of him."

Aberdeen put in one of their best performances of the season. They clicked in attack and, largely, looked pretty comfortable at the back, able to deal with Hibs' ultra-slow tempo.

Peter Leven, back in the dugout after a hip operation, has done brilliantly since his appointment as interim boss and fans can't help but wonder - what if he had replaced Barry Robson, rather than Neil Warnock?

Would they be in the top six, fighting out for an unlikely European spot - just like last season? Who knows.

What we do know is Leven's stock has certainly risen, but it remains to be seen if he now has a taste for a top job.

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Leighton Clarkson. The ex-Liverpool midfielder has been back to his best in recent weeks and he absolutely controlled this game from the middle of the park.

His goal, and his wonderful dummy for Miovski's strike, showed the quality he has - the only frustration is that he doesn't always show it.

Dante Polvara is worth a mention. The American has produced a few big goals this season and, after being written off by some early on in his Dons' career, has become a key part of the midfield.

A mention, too, for young Fletcher Boyd. The 16-year-old, who hails from nearby Portsoy, looks a talent.

Hibernian: Wollacott, Cadden, Bushiri, Hanlon, Obita, Moriah-Welsh, Newell, Boyle, Marcondes, Maolida, Vente.

Substitutes: Johnson, Levitt, Doyle-Hayes, Amos, Stevenson, Le Fondre, Triantis, Tavares, Campbell.

Aberdeen: Roos, Devlin, MacDonald, Gartenmann, MacKenzie, Barron, Polvara, McGrath, Clarkson, Hoilett, Miovski.

Substitutes: Doohan, Shinnie, Jensen, Duk, McGarry, Sokler, Milne, Rubezic, Boyd.

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Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie has set his sights on a Scotland call-up after lauding the work interim manager Peter Leven has done in improving his game (Sunday Post, print only)

Read the rest of today's gossip here

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Aberdeen midfielder Jamie McGrath wants to secure a seventh-place Premiership finish this season to reward interim head coach Peter Leven for his "brilliant" work.

Leven, who is nearing the end of his second stint in temporary charge this term, has overseen a six-game unbeaten league run, and the Dons will go seventh in the table if they win at Hibernian on Sunday.

"Peter has been brilliant any time he has been called upon," McGrath said. "We are unbeaten in a good few games and we are not leaking silly goals at the back.

"We are looking better on the ball each week; we should have probably won at the weekend by a lot more goals than one, so training has been very enjoyable under Peter.

"Everybody is really enjoying what he is doing for us and we just want to hopefully give him that seventh place to have something to show at the end of it."

McGrath is delighted Leven will be remaining at Pittodrie as part of the coaching staff when new manager Jimmy Thelin arrives from Elfsborg next month.

"Of course it is brilliant for him to be staying around, it is a bit of continuity," McGrath added.

"We don’t know much about the new management staff yet but we are really looking forward to working with them from the summer.

"It will be something new to be working for a foreign manager, so I am looking forward to it and seeing what new ideas I can learn."

Interim boss Peter Leven says being in hospital for an emergency operation last weekend didn't stop him having an input in Aberdeen's win over St Johnstone.

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Interim boss Peter Leven has rejected any suggestion the pressure is off Aberdeen now they have secured their Premiership status.

Last weekend's 1-0 home win over St Johnstone - which Leven missed as he underwent emergency surgery - ended any lingering fears of the Dons being dragged into a battle to avoid the relegation play-off spot.

Next up is a trip to face Hibs on Sunday and Leven said: "There is always pressure at Aberdeen. Obviously I hid it a wee bit, I didn’t want to be that manager to take Aberdeen down, but I always believed in myself.

"I believed in the players that we could put on a good show at the end of the season – collect points, good performances - and I think we have shown that.

"They have played with a wee bit of freedom since I came in. I have asked them to express themselves, get on the ball.

"Nothing changes - we want to win every game even though we are safe. I have still put that pressure on them, I want to finish seventh so hopefully we can go there and win."

With just three games remaining, Leven is nearing the end of his second spell as interim head coach this term, having stepped up following the departures of both Barry Robson and Neil Warnock.

He will remain as part of new manager Jimmy Thelin's coaching staff when the Swede arrives from Elfsborg next month.

"I have loved it," said Leven. "It helps when you are winning. I’m going to enjoy these last three games and three wins would be a good end to the season."

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Aberdeen have announced the appointment of Stuart Glennie as the club's new youth academy director.

Glennie took up a post with the Dons in 2023 as head of academy coaching, but will now step up to lead the club's youth set-up.

He also coached in the Scottish FA's performance school for 11 years, and was co-manager of Highland League side Deveronvale for over two years.

“It’s a real honour for me to be appointed as youth academy director," Glennie said.

“I have a real passion for developing young players. We’re fortunate to have one of the best academies in the country, and I am going to be relentless in the club’s pursuit to be the best developer of young talent."

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Caretaker manager Peter Leven has been speaking to the media before Aberdeen's Premiership game at Hibernian on Sunday.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Having missed last weekend’s game after being admitted to hospital for an emergency operation, Leven says he's "on the mend". He wanted to push the operation back but was told by the medics "it needs to be done straight away".

• With their Premiership status now secure Leven says: "Obviously I didn’t want to be that manager to take Aberdeen down."

• He rejected the suggestion the pressure is now off, saying "there is always pressure at Aberdeen" and they want to win all three remaining matches.

• Leven is expecting a difficult game against a Hibs side who have attacking options that can hurt any team.

• On Connor Barron, who is out of contract in the Summer, Leven says the midfielder's future is for others to sort out, but described him as "a breath of fresh air".

• Team news: "Everybody is fit and healthy".

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Jack Butland, Bojan Miovski, Matt O'Riley and Lawrence Shankland have been named on the shortlist for the Scottish Football Writers' Association player of the year award.

Hearts striker Shankland will be looking to add to his PFA Scotland Premiership player of the year prize, having already pipped Rangers' Butland and O'Riley of Celtic to the award.

Miovski, who has scored 24 goals for Aberdeen this term, was omitted from the PFA's nominees, with Rangers captain James Tavernier included.

But having been a rare highlight in a disappointing season at Pittodrie, the Macedonian has carried a struggling side on his back and made his mark in Europe, as well as against the Old Firm.

Butland has enjoyed a stellar first campaign north of the border, filling the sizeable gloves left behind by Rangers legend Allan McGregor with authority this season.

The Englishman has kept 18 clean sheets in 35 Premiership games and has helped the Ibrox side boast the best defensive record in the top flight, conceding just 25 times.

On the other side of Glasgow, midfielder O'Riley has enjoyed his most productive season in green and white, racking up 12 goals and 14 assists - a league high.

With Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate missing at times, the Denmark international has stepped up this season and his impact could see Celtic retain their title despite increased pressure from their rivals.

But as the Premiership top scorer and with one award already claimed, Shankland could be the man to beat.

While his goals have rightfully grabbed the headlines, the 28-year-old has also been crucial in Hearts' build-up play en route to third place and has taken the role of captain in the absence of Craig Gordon.