Aberdeen 'look forward' after 'strong response' to Thelin criticism

Thelin's Dons have taken a mere four points from the last 42 available in the league

"No-one is hiding or trying to find excuses" amid a dreadful run of results at Aberdeen, says manager Jimmy Thelin after a "strong response" to his recent words of criticism.

The Swede spoke of the need to "give more" following a 2-0 defeat at Hibernian last weekend, which extended their winless run in the league to 14 games.

"If you have a good relationship, I think that it is basic for everyone when you have to be strong in some messages or not," he explained, looking ahead to Sunday's Scottish Cup visit of Dunfermline Athletic.

"As a human being you know when you don't do the right things. Sometimes you don't need to say it because they know themselves. It is not about that.

"The message is clear. When you are under a specific run it can be difficult to get out of this, but I think the energy is here now and everybody is looking forward.

"It was an important feeling after the game against Hibs, we can't keep going like this we have to change it and change it quick. The response [from the players] was really strong in the week, with stronger competition inside the squad, also the intensity they are bringing on the training pitch."

'A good transfer window' at Pittodrie

Despite going without a league victory since early November, Aberdeen sit fourth in the table, but they have not scored in any of their past five Premiership matches.

"We are still in the cup and we can still catch third place, so that should be our focus," added Thelin.

"Take this opportunity and push for that instead of looking back. We know what we have to do, the performances have not been good enough.

"No-one is hiding or trying to find excuses. It is only about stepping up in some parts of what we have gone through this week, what we have to change."

Aberdeen signed defender Mats Knoester from Ferencvaros and Palestinian striker Oday Dabbagh from Charleroi on transfer deadline day, taking the number of January recruits to six.

"It was a good window for us," said Thelin. "Everybody working really hard to find the best solutions.

"We are trying to rebuild a little bit for the future but also add quality for short term objectives."