"It was a tough game, the team worked really hard. It was a great atmosphere and the energy from the crowd pushed us on.
"We have been stable in defence, and we are trying to grow in attack, and the pressing part, we still have work to do.
"We need to go game by game and keep growing."
Image source, SNS
Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts' stuttering form continued as they suffered their first league defeat of the season, Topi Keskinen's goal giving Aberdeen a surprise victory at Pittodrie.
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSAberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie wants to put a stop to Hearts' "brilliant" start to the Premiership season.
Derek McInnes' side sit top of the table and are undefeated in the league with nine wins and three draws from their opening 12 games.
But the Dons are hoping to become the first team to register a league win against them when the sides meet at Pittodrie on Sunday.
"I wouldn't say overly surprised," Shinnie said when asked about Hearts sitting top of the table.
"They have a good squad, a good manager, they have had a brilliant start to the season. They are in a very strong position so they have done really well but we try and focus on ourselves.
"We are at home and are looking to try and get the win that we need to try and start climbing the table. Yes they have had a good start to the season, but we want to put a change to that."
Aberdeen are eighth in table but their recent form has improved with 10 points taken from the last 15 on offer.
Sunday's visit of Hearts represents the start of a busy schedule of domestic and European fixtures.
"It is always an important part of the season," Shinnie added.
"I think we have got about nine games in December with the mix of European games in with the league as well.
"It is important in every period like this for points, there is so much at stake so you want to put as many points on the board as you can.
"We want to start climbing up the league and I always think after this busy period the league starts to take a bit more shape.
"You can't get too far ahead of yourself, the sole focus is on Sunday and trying to win that and then we move on to Thursday after that."
Image source, SNSAberdeen hope to have Alfie Dorrington, Ante Palaversa and Sivert Heltne Nilsen in contention, but Kristers Tobers (knee) is out long term.
Hearts are without the suspended Craig Halkett as well as injured trio Beni Baningime, Calem Nieuwenhof and Finlay Pollock (all hamstring).
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSJimmy Thelin has urged his Aberdeen side to grasp the "big opportunity" to show they are heading in the right direction by inflicting table-topping Hearts' first defeat of the season.
The Dons are eighth in the table - a massive 19 points behind the Tynecastle side - but there have been signs their form is turning.
"In the beginning of the season we had almost zero points from some games, now we have taken 10 points from the last five," said manager Thelin.
"Now we want to grow as a team by developing some parts of our game and try to be more what we see ourselves in the future. Still it is going to take some time, step by step to arrive at that level, but the points are coming and the performances have been stabilised.
"We are a little bit more consistent in some parts of the game and then we have to improve other parts of the game."
The narrative that the red tanker is turning would certainly be enhanced by a positive result against high-flying Hearts.
"We want to have our home form, we have to show more there," added Thelin.
"The players are looking forward to the game. It is a big game, it is a big opportunity for us to show that we are on the right track and progressing.
"We have had a strong belief in the whole season, even in the really tough times. Still we are in a difficult situation, but we have to feel like we can take step by step now. It is still early days so we are trying to find a way to push and take more points."
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSAberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Scottish Premiership visit from leaders Hearts.
Here are the main points:
Thelin feels Sunday's game is "a big opportunity to show we are on the right track and progressing" and wants his team to "show more" when they're playing at home.
On the great start to the season Hearts have made, Thelin says "they have done really well" but stresses Aberdeen are focusing on themselves.
The Dons boss insists his side "have a strong belief" they can finish the season well and stresses it is "still early days" in the league but feels the performances "have been stabilised" and the team are "more consistent".
On reports midfielder Leighton Clarkson could leave in the January window, Thelin stresses he is "not going to speculate about players".
Some players are "showing much more after the break" and Thelin adds that during the season some players "will develop and evolve and adapt to a new system, a new way of playing".
Team news: Kristers Tobers is the only player who remains out. Alexander Jensen, Sivert Heltne Nilsen, Ante Palaversa and Alfie Dorrington could come back into contention.
Former Aberdeen skipper Andrew Considine backs "wonderful manager" Jimmy Thelin amid the club's difficult start to the season.
The Dons, who host Hearts on Sunday, occupy eighth spot in the Premiership after losing six of their opening 11 fixtures.
Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland
Image source, SNSHearts' lead at the top of the table was cut to seven points after being held to a draw at home to Dundee United last time out, leading some to doubt their ability to maintain a long-term title challenge.
A trip to Pittodrie will be a major test of that and there will be additional pressure on former Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes' side if reigning champions Celtic have already reduced the arrears further in their trip to face St Mirren on Saturday.
Especially so given the Edinburgh side have failed to win in 13 visits to Aberdeen since an Abiola Dauda goal separated the sides in May 2016.
Indeed, their 0-0 draw on their last meeting at Pittodrie this May ended a run of nine straight defeats.
The current Hearts side are a different beast, though, and remain unbeaten in 10 games overall, including their latest four away from home.
Lawrence Shankland - the Premiership's top scorer on seven goals - heads to the north east on a high after his goal helped beat Denmark 4-2 at Hampden to secure World Cup qualification for Scotland.
The Dons have, though, managed to lift themselves off the bottom of the table in recent weeks and are unbeaten in three outings as they look to reverse the 2-0 defeat they suffered at Tynecastle in their season opener.
However, Jimmy Thelin's eighth-top side have still only managed one victory in their latest five.
Read all the weekend's Premiership picks
Former head of recruitment Darren Mowbray is back at Aberdeen on a full-time basis, having been working on a consultancy basis since leaving Southampton in March. (Daily Record), external
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin is sticking to the club's three-year plan to build a team that can compete in Europe despite his side sitting in the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership after a summer of heavy investment in his squad. (Press & Journal), external
Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.
Image source, SNSAberdeen are unbeaten in 13 home league meetings with Hearts (W10 D3) since a 1-0 defeat in May 2016 under current Tynecastle boss Derek McInnes.
Hearts are unbeaten in three league meetings with Aberdeen (W1 D2), last going four without losing to the Dons in April 2014.
After a run of 10 Premiership matches without victory between May and September (D1 L9), failing to score in six consecutive matches, Aberdeen have since lost just one of their past five in the competition (W3 D1) while netting in all five matches.
After winning six consecutive league matches from August to October, Hearts have drawn two of their past three (W1), as many draws as they recorded in their previous 24 in the competition.
Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland, the top scorer in the Premiership with seven goals, has managed just one fewer goal this term in the competition than opponents Aberdeen have scored as a team (eight).
New Aberdeen sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel will hold contract talks with captain Graeme Shinnie and fellow midfielder Dante Polvara over the coming weeks. (Daily Record), external
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSNew sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel says if he didn't want to win silverware with Aberdeen he "would be at home playing golf".
The 52-year-old German took up his new job earlier this month and is already aiming high.
"If I didn't want to win titles I wouldn't be here, I would be at home playing golf. So I think it is very important to aim for the highest possible," said Pfannenstiel.
"I strongly believe if you aim for the smaller thing it is easy to reach and you can clap yourself on the shoulder. But I don't think that is what I am made of, I want to aim for the highest possible and if you overachieve then it is something you can be proud of.
"Aberdeen is one of the biggest clubs, one of the clubs with the biggest traditions in European football, because when I was a boy it was one of the clubs everybody looked at and I think not many teams in the world actually have that."
Pfannenstiel has made the move to Aberdeen after leaving the role of sporting director at MLS club St Louis City in the summer.
Turning Pittodrie into an intimidating fortress is among the many things he hopes to help achieve.
He said: "I think very clearly put the work in, challenge everything you can, try to create your own identity and I want Aberdeen again to be one of those places if you come here you should be worried and scared."
Recruitment is one of the areas Pfannenstiel will be heavily involved in.
Given that, and Aberdeen's sluggish start to the campaign, is it likely to be a busy January transfer window for the Dons?
He said: "Not that busy. I think if you are too busy in the winter you can do more damage than positives because there are games going, you have no pre-season and you are basically jumping from one game to the next so I think you need to be careful to change too much.
"There can be adjustments made if that is what you believe needs to be fixed but just to change players left, right and centre now because there is a new sporting director here, that won't happen.
"If you want to have bigger moves, or bigger changes, that is something usually always for the summer window."
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSLutz Pfannenstiel has been speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment as Aberdeen's new sporting director.
Here are the key points from his news conference:
The German began with a nod to his colourful past - "Yes, I did have a penguin in my bathtub once" - but stressed he is here to focus on the future with Aberdeen and not "talk about some Antarctic birds".
Pfannenstiel says he had "three or four other options" but Aberdeen was "where I really wanted to be" – the club's tradition being among the many reasons why.
He adds: "I watched Aberdeen when I was a kid because I liked Jim Leighton a lot as a former goalkeeper. I always followed Scottish football as I have friends playing up here as well. I played in the academy with Andreas Mayer who played for Aberdeen before, I always really followed it."
The 53-year-old says it is important to develop a playing strategy - a "DNA" - at every level of the club and "recruitment will be following through where everything is based on the playing style".
He adds: "Sometimes recruiting the best player on the market doesn't always work out. You need to have the best fitting player on the market to your system and style and I think that is what we want to look at in detail."
On whether Jimmy Thelin is the man to take the club forward: "I think it was good news for Jimmy that I came in because I think he can focus more on what he wants to focus on and really purely concentrate on the coaching and working on the on-field stuff. I can take away a lot of pressure from him when it comes to dealing with recruitment, finding players. We see football very much the same and we are aligned on that."
Pfannenstiel accepts the start to the season has been below expectation but says you have "to trust the process... we are not too far away" and believes "small adjustments" in the January transfer window can have a big impact.
He continues: "I see maybe one or two little puzzle pieces missing and if you fill those positions with the right players, I think some of the other players could really take off and go in the perfect right direction."
Youth development is high on his priority list: "I think giving local kids and players that come through the academy opportunities in the first team must be one of the major goals."
Pfannenstiel says when he worked at Hoffenheim, there were three or four players progressing from the academy to first team every year and he aims to do similar at Pittodrie.
The German cited his attention to detail as a key strength: "It is always easy to have a good plan on a piece of paper or on an iPad and talk a big game but don't do it. The implementation, working on the detail and be hands on - to be out and about - I think is extremely important.'
Aberdeen are monitoring Kilmarnock midfielder David Watson, 20. (Daily Record), external
If Aberdeen defender Jack Milne continues his good club form then a Scotland call-up won't be far away for the 22-year-old, reckons former Pittodrie hero Andrew Considine. (Daily Record), external
Read all of Tuesday's Scottish Gossip
Image source, SNSDylan Lobban has been brought into the Aberdeen side as a right wing-back, evidenced by his heat map in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell
Since making his Aberdeen debut at the end of October, Dylan Lobban has played every minute for the Pittodrie side until now, including a resolute 0-0 draw against AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League.
Originally a midfielder in the club's youth academy, the 20-year-old has been playing at right wing-back for Jimmy Thelin.
Not only has he played 90 minutes in all three of his appearances, he has also been part of a defence that have conceded just once in those games.
In the league, Lobban has played just two games but has outperformed some of his more experienced team-mates in a number of metrics.
In terms of his passing, Lobban has made 20 passes ending in the final third, more than fellow full-backs Gavin Molloy (17) and Emmanuel Gyamfi (16). Both have made more appearances than the young right-back.
Lobban has also made 15 forward passes in his two Premiership matches, more than winger Topi Keskinen and striker Kevin Nisbet, who have played 10 and eight matches respectively.
Lobban's seven passes into the box is a higher than the tallies of Nicky Devlin, Sivert Heltne Nilsen, Marko Lazetic and Nisbet.
Defensively, he has made six recoveries, seven clearances and won eight duels. His 50% success rate for tackles is better than Alexander Jensen's and equal to Mats Knoester and Jack Milne.
Albeit a small sample size, it looks like there's plenty more to come from the youngster.
Aberdeen and Leighton Clarkson are open to the midfielder leaving the club during the January transfer window, the 24-year-old having rejected a move to a Polish club because he was not keen on playing in the Ekstraklasa. (Press & Journal - subscription required), external
Image source, SNSFormer skipper Andrew Considine still sees a "very bright future" for Aberdeen despite a poor start to the season.
After the high of May's Scottish Cup triumph, the Dons opened the Premiership with a six-game winless and goalless run.
Four matches later Jimmy Thelin's side sit eighth, just three points above Livingston at the bottom but only six adrift of Hibs in third.
There's also been a club record European defeat - the 6-0 hammering by AEK Athens - but Considine is confident the Dons' summer recruitment will soon bear fruit.
The 38-year-old who retired from football in July 2024, told BBC Scotland: "It's been a little bit of a sticky start.
"There's still probably two or three gears that they need to get up to. I think the recruitment has been good, the likes of Jesper Karlsson, there's numerous players that have come in, there's some real quality in that squad.
"It takes a bit of time to gel but I understand in football you just don't get time.
"I certainly don't see Aberdeen sitting down the bottom from here on in. I've seen many glimpses this year already of what's to come.
"It's down to the players, they have a wonderful manager, the club itself is in a really strong position. It's about turning the results into wins. They've come really close in a lot of results but they haven't managed to get it over the line. That'll come, that's football.
"If they go on a winning run now of three, four or five games they're third or fourth because the league is pretty tight. Things can change Saturday to Saturday, I still see a very bright future for Aberdeen."
Considine will be playing for Aberdeen in the Scottish Masters at the city's P&J Arena. Watch live coverage on BBC Scotland on Friday, 14 November at 19:30 GMT.
We asked for your views on what one thing you would change at Aberdeen.
Here's what some of you said:
Joseph: There is a lot wrong, but the thing that concerns me most is that the squad is too big. Each week there have been senior pros and new signings left out. Persuading players to come to Scotland and join us on a multi-year contract, then leaving them sitting in the stand is baffling.
Andy: Tempted to say the manager but I will go with the formation. We need three in midfield as the current two are constantly being overrun. Play 5-3-2. Wing-backs provide width, more bodies in the middle of the park and play Jesper Karlsson just behind the striker.
Malky: It might be the easy answer, but the simple solution for me is to change the manager! Look at the wrong records he's broken, the offensive statistics, the defensive statistics, it's embarrassing. He's been backed significantly and it is his team, there can't be any more excuses for the man. Forever in our history books for the Scottish Cup, but he's out of his depth.
Kev: I'd give youth a chance! You've seen the impact Dylan Lobban has had in the squad. I would drop Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Nilsen and bring in more kids to work alongside Karlsson while we have him.
Peter: I would not have sold Shayden Morris or Pape Gueye. We lost two guys that made the difference in the cup final when they came on. Now we don't have that impact off the bench and are looking weak up front.
Bernie: It's apparent to me that what the Aberdeen players lack is enjoyment in the game. Yes, football can be a serious business, but I'm not sure they feel as if they're allowed to also have fun. I think they're afraid of failure and that's stifling their creativity. So they should be let off the leash, to some extent, be told to go out there, relax and have fun.
