Aberdeen

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Aberdeen caretaker boss Peter Leven says he doesn't know whether Jimmy Thelin will arrive to take up the vacant Pittodrie post.

Leven, who has been filling the role since Neil Warnock's shock departure last month, will meet with club officials at the start of next week to discuss the future.

The Dons are closing in on the appointment of Elfsborg head coach Jimmy Thelin, who has guided the Swedish side to successive second-place finishes in the Allsvenskan.

“I’ve not spoken to anyone yet,” the 40-year-old said.

“I’ve got a meeting on Monday, but my focus again is just on this game on Saturday. That is the most important thing for me.

“We’ve got a meeting with the senior staff on Monday, so we’ll take it from there.”

Despite a disappointing campaign for the Dons, who currently lie in ninth-place, Leven insists the job is one that should excite any prospective manager.

“It is a great club, a huge club and it has potential to go even higher.

“Obviously you’ve seen that this season with the games in Europe, a Viaplay Cup final and Scottish Cup semi-final, so anybody coming in, it is a great club.”

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Why should Scottish football fans care about Czech side Viktoria Plzen drawing with Italian heavyweights Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League?

The result on Thursday night has serious consequences for the Premiership, with the Czech Republic now having leapfrogged Scotland in the coefficient standings.

Not only will the winners of the top flight no longer gain automatic qualification to the Champions League from 2025/26, but there's also a knock on effect for those finishing further down the table.

Here's everything you need to know.

Ben Philip
BBC Scotland

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Aberdeen caretaker manager Peter Leven has been speaking to the media ahead of his side's meeting with Dundee at Pittodrie on Saturday.

Here are the key points:

• Asked if it was his understanding Jimmy Thelin was to become the new manager, he says no, but highlighted a meeting he has with senior staff on Monday.

• Part of the meeting will be his future at the club, including whether he’ll be managing team until the end of the season. Leven says he's keen to remain at Pittodrie.

• Would advise any new manager coming in that Aberdeen is a great club and has the potential to go even higher, saying it's a great opportunity for the prospective coach.

• Admits the uncertainty of the managerial situation might be affecting some players, but it's his job to keep everyone focussed on the task at hand.

• Believes the Dons have good momentum amid an unbeaten of three games, adding their focus is on getting three points against Dundee.

• Although he describes the Dens Park pitch debacle as "not ideal", he says he's not a groundsman and it's not his place to comment.

• No new injury concerns, while Slobodan Rubezic has now returned to full training.

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Aberdeen are closing in on the appointment of Elfsborg head coach Jimmy Thelin as their new manager.

Is he the right man to turn things around at Pittodrie? Have your say here.

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• Aberdeen are unbeaten in their last 14 home league games against Dundee (W10 D4), keeping a clean sheet in half of those matches.

• Dundee beat Aberdeen 1-0 last month at Dens Park and could now record multiple wins over the Pittodrie club in the same league season for the first time since 2003-04.

• After their 2-1 win over Ross County, Aberdeen could win back-to-back home league games for just a second time this season.

• Having beaten St Johnstone 2-1, Dundee could win successive away games in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since December 2017/January 2018.

• Since the start of last season, no player has scored more home goals in the Scottish Premiership than Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski (25, level with Lawrence Shankland). 83% of the North Macedonian’s goals in the competition have come at Pittodrie (25/30).

Elfsborg coach Jimmy Thelin has agreed to become Aberdeen manager, starting in June. (Sun), external

Aberdeen are close to officially appointing Thelin. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip

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Aberdeen could be about to appoint "Sweden's most boring person" as manager - but someone who is also "exceptional" in the transfer market.

So says Swedish journalist Robert Laul, who knows Jimmy Thelin well from the 46-year-old's six-year spell as Elfsborg head coach in their nation's top flight.

"Jimmy Thelin in Aberdeen would mean the death of exciting headlines," Laul, who writes for Goteborgs-Posten, told BBC Scotland. "The city's newspapers can retire their headline writers or send them on a long holiday to a sunnier place.

"In interviews, he is perhaps Sweden's most boring person. He rarely or never offers anything personal, refuses to tip tables or speculate."

Officials too are likely to have a quiet life should Thelin, who is being tipped to move to Scotland on 1 June, be appointed at Pittodrie.

"He is a decent and honest person with sound values, devoted to the profession, meticulous and professional," Laul said. "He never criticises a verdict out of respect for the referees.

"It is one of the things he has become best known for in Sweden. He has never complained about a referee's decision on TV, in newspapers, or other interviews."

However, it is on the boardroom and on the pitch where Thelin apparently thrives.

"Jimmy Thelin is exceptional at transfer finance - and building a squad over time," Laul added. "If you give him a couple of years to refine players, sell on more expensive and replace cheaply, he is the best in Sweden at getting a team to overperform against the invested pound.

"He usually uses the 4-3-3-formation but can switch to 4-4-2 during matches. The focus is on hard work in the defensive game with high pressure, a quick transition game, as well as a game build-up with game turns (diagonal passes) and a shorter combination game closer to the goal."

Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski's stoppage-time goal against Livingston was correctly ruled out, according to the Scottish FA, despite a glitch in the Hawkeye system designed to help with offside decisions.

The Pittodrie club have described Scotland's VAR system as not fit for purpose and claimed that the video assistant referee had effectively guessed whether centre-half Angus MacDonald was offside in the build-up.

But the SFA has responded following a report on the incident from Hawkeye, saying it "confirmed that the broadcast 18-yard left camera suffered a loss of calibration and ceased line tracking on the relevant video frame.

"During the review, Hawkeye were able to reprocess the data through their system and draw the calibrated offside lines from the disallowed goal, which showed Angus MacDonald to be in an offside position.

"The VAR made the decision using the technology that was available and this decision was validated by Hawkeye's retrospective recalibration conducted as part of their review."

Aberdeen host Dundee in their final pre-split fixture on Saturday.

Will Peter Leven still be in the home dugout? If so, who should he pick?

Choose your preferred XI here.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland

Aberdeen began their turgid league season with a goalless draw at Livingston and it was perhaps apt that another drab stalemate at Almondvale consigned them to the Premiership’s bottom six for just the second time in 11 seasons.

The damage done during Neil Warnock’s month in charge proved to be irreparable when it came to clambering into the top half of the table. A points tally in the low 40s is usually enough to secure top six; that should not have been out of reach even after Barry Robson lost his job.

The only positive to come from West Lothian was that Aberdeen nudged a point further away from 11th placed Ross County. That gap is currently seven and with County up against title-chasing Rangers on Sunday, they have a real chance to surely put any play-off fears to bed when they host Dundee the day before.

The Scottish Cup could yet provide the sort of plot-twist that Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino would dismiss as far-fetched. It’s been 34 years since the Dons got their hands on that piece of silverware and should they upset the odds and end that seemingly perpetual wait, it would also return them to the group stage of European competition next season. More on that next week.

However, there can be no getting away from how insipid a league campaign this has been for Aberdeen, their worst since 2012. Eight wins from 32 matches does not acquiesce with the financial outlay at the start of the season and the club’s general, and very public, ambitions.

Should success continue to elude them in the Scottish Cup, it will be the League Cup group stages next season and a smaller budget for whoever eventually replaces Robson as permanent manager.

It was points spilled at home to Dundee that saw Robson relieved of his duties at the end of January and despite the club stating at the start of March that the search for a new manager was at “an advanced stage”, the post remains vacant.

On loan defender Stefan Gartenmann, who Robson was keen to sign full-time, was vocal in the wake of the Livi game that the managerial uncertainty was “frustrating”.

Given the significance of that semi-final against Celtic in Glasgow, which is looming large now, the club could do with an assurance either way, even if that means the new man starts in the summer.

Interim manager Peter Leven challengers Aberdeen forward Luis 'Duk' Lopes to rediscover his best form. (Record), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip

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Serie A clubs Sassuolo and Cagliari have made Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron a top summer target, with the 21-year-old soon to be out of contract at Pittodrie and available for £500,000 in training compensation. (Daily Record), external

Former Hibernian defender Niklas Gunnarsson says Aberdeen managerial target Jimmy Thelin likes his Elfsborg team to play a stringent, counter-attacking 4-3-3 formation with fast, physical, attacking football with a high press. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

On today's episode of the Scottish Football Podcast, Liam McLeod is joined by Kenny Miller and Alan Stubbs.

They discuss Sunday's Old Firm thriller and look back on an action-packed Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.

Listen to the episode in full here.

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Former Livingston midfielder Daryl Smylie, who played under Jimmy Thelin at Swedish second division club Jonkopings Sondra, says he has spoken to the Elfsborg head coach and the 46-year-old Swede is poised to make a final decision about whether or not to move to Aberdeen. (Daily Record), external

Juventus have reached an agreement in principle with Thiago Motta for the Bologna boss to become their new head coach - and Bologna's 24-year-old Scotland midfielder, Lewis Ferguson, could follow him to Turin. (Calcio Mercato), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

The Sportscene team say Aberdeen have to learn lessons from their disappointing season.

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With several reports linking Elfsborg manager Jimmy Thelin to the vacant Aberdeen post, the Sportsound team are warning that the Dons could have all their eggs in one basket.

Michael Stewart believes that failing to secure the Swede - if that is the club's current plan - could lead to serious backlash at Pittodrie.

"If Aberdeen are not to end up with Jimmy Thelin as their manager, it could be the final nail in the coffin for a few people in that club," the former Scotland midfielder said.

"When is it going to happen? The Swedish league is up and running. Realistically you're thinking if they're going to get him in, it's got to be before their season starts. This thing is taking an eternity."

Aberdeen legend Willie Miller says there could be a few red faces in the granite city if the appointment doesn't come to fruition.

"It's ridiculous the length of time this has taken to appoint a manager," he said. "There should be a straight-forward procedure. You should do it with a lot of thought, but you can't let it drag on.

"You can't allow one man to lead you down a cul-de-sac. There's a possibility that could be the case and then your left with egg on your face. The time between now and the summer has been totally wasted."

We asked for your thoughts after Aberdeen played out a goalless draw with Livingston.

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

Paul: They just look so disinterested! Can't score but persist with one up front. Massive clear out of the dross needed and considering how many are new, it's not a good look. Season can't finish soon enough!

Mike: Harder to beat, not great to watch, but who cares it’s just about getting the points to stay up, which unlike a few weeks ago is starting to look like we will.

Fred: Today emphasised that the current team is definitely bottom six standard. No real creativity and lacked quality all over the park. Another summer rebuild will be needed to get us back into European contention. Such a shame after last summer’s recruitment. The new manager will need many new players to avoid a repeat of this season.

Justin: Very poor in the creative department. But a predictable result that eeks us closer to safety. seven points from the last three games isn’t bad so let’s get this season over with.

Niall: Accepting the bouncy pitch and the windy conditions this was really hard to watch. A really abject performance with so much at stake. Why not test the goalkeeper more? The Dons seem completely clueless in the final third and results elsewhere keep the pressure on. Bottom six assured and the low points of this disappointing season begin to unravel.

John: I will be glad when this season ends. New manager and new players might improve next season but I have got the impression that Aberdeen have lost the big time flourish the used to have other teams don’t respect us anymore and you don’t get that back overnight. The next manager must be up to high standards and so must the players he brings in.

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• Aberdeen are undefeated in their last three games in the Scottish Premiership, their last joint-longest unbeaten streak was from 24 September 2023 to 8 October 2023.

• Livingston have failed to score in 17 of their 32 games, more often than any other team in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Aberdeen have failed to score in 14 of their 32 games, only Livingston (17) and Ross County (16) have failed to score more often in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Dan MacKay attempted just four passes in the first half.

Aberdeen caretaker Peter Leven says Bojan Miovski's late disallowed goal at Livingston is a "tough one" to take.

Were you at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday or following the match elsewhere?

Either way, we want your views on the game - have your say here.