Aberdeen

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premiership match against Dundee.

Here are the best bits from his press conference:

• On being named manager of the month, Thelin says the award is for "everyone to share" and says he is "really happy" for Nicky Devlin, who was named player of the month.

• Thelin wants his side to "take the learnings" from last week's 6-0 League Cup semi-final loss against Celtic, but highlighted the importance of moving on.

• He doesn't believe what happened at Hampden will have any bearing on Saturday's game. He was keen to emphasise the long-term plan, and added: "It is more about we stay true to our identity".

• The Swedish manager says will side will need to be at "100%" against Dundee, who "are strong in what they are doing".

• Kevin Nisbet will be in the matchday squad after his recent spell out, and Thelin hopes long-term absentee Dante Polvara will be available after the international break.

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Aberdeen are celebrating an awards double, with Jimmy Thelin named Premiership manager of the month for October and Nicky Devlin taking the player prize.

Swede Thelin steered the Dons to wins over Hearts, Dundee United and Rangers as well as a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park in October to keep his side unbeaten in the league and only off the top on goal difference.

The Swede - who was also manager of the month in August - is joined among the awards by right-back Devlin, who has been a standout in Aberdeen's flying start.

Devlin, 31, scored in the Pittodrie victories over Hearts and Rangers - taking his tally to four goals this season - and his form was recognised with a first Scotland call-up and debut in the Nations League draw with Portugal.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty is looking to "sow seeds of doubt" at Pittodrie against an Aberdeen team whose unbeaten start to the season came to a shuddering halt last weekend.

Dundee, who are sixth, travel north full of confidence for Saturday night's game after coming from two down to beat Kilmarnock 3-2.

Aberdeen remain tied with Celtic at the top but suffered their first defeat under Jimmy Thelin with a 6-0 thrashing by Celtic in the League Cup semi-final.

"Aberdeen deserve enormous credit for what they have done this season so far in terms of their unbeaten run," said Docherty.

"But their unbeaten run in the cup is now finished, it is my job as Dundee manager to sow those seeds of doubt and try and make sure my team go up there and put in a level of performance that gives us every opportunity to win."

Dundee were unfortunate to lose 2-1 when the teams met at Dens Park at the end of September.

Docherty added: "We put in a really strong performance and probably should have come out with a positive result from that, but we didn't.

"But having analysed that match and the other games have both played since then, we need to take a lot of confidence from the way we played last time."

• Aberdeen are unbeaten in 15 home league games against Dundee (W10 D5) since a 2-1 reverse in May 2004 under Steve Paterson.

• Dundee have only had two wins in their last 29 league games against Aberdeen (D8 L19), the most recent of which was a 1-0 victory in March last season.

• Aberdeen are one of two sides, along with Celtic, to win nine of their opening 10 Scottish Premiership matches this season (D1). In the 21st century, only one team has reached 10 wins in as few as 11 matches from the start of a Scottish top-flight campaign and not gone on to win the title (Celtic in 2010-11).

• Dundee have only won one of their last eight away league games (D3 L4), a 1-0 victory at Motherwell in October.

• Aberdeen have scored 20 goals from 123 shots in the Scottish Premiership this season, with their conversion rate of 16.3% the highest of any side in 2024-25. The Dons have scored over six goals more than their expected goals (20 goals from 13.7 xG), the highest overperformance of any side in the competition this term.

Aberdeen are favourites to finish at least second, believes former Pittodrie goalkeeper Joe Lewis. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Saturday's League Cup semi-final humbling at the hands of Celtic was a sobering reality check for the Aberdeen supporters. The Dons players had them dreaming of a quick-fire trophy under Jimmy Thelin after their record-breaking run during the infancy of the Swede's tenure.

Thelin won't want to dwell on the match for too long and will rather focus on getting the train back on the tracks, starting with the visit of Dundee to Pittodrie this weekend.

There were several factors that contributed to what culminated in an ultimately embarrassing, record Hampden Park defeat for Aberdeen. The first being the fact that the three goals Celtic scored in an 11-minute spell from around the half hour mark were all cheaply conceded. It was a punishing 11 minutes and it destroyed the Dons' hopes of a return to the League Cup final before half-time.

You then look at the two sides' matches last midweek where Brendan Rodgers was afforded the luxury of rotating some of his squad for their game at home to Dundee while Aberdeen were beating Rangers with everything that goes with that fixture. Thelin started the same XI at the national stadium and they looked leggy and didn't get near the levels they got to in the second half at Celtic Park just a fortnight before.

Celtic were utterly ruthless. They actually had fewer shots at goal in the semi than they did in the 2-2 draw and everything seemed to go in for the champions.

Captain Callum McGregor and in-form winger Nicolas Kuhn also returned from injury for the semi and with his team easing through to the showpiece, Rodgers made second half changes with £9 million striker Adam Idah and £3.5 million midfielder Paulo Bernardo entering the fray alongside Liam Scales who has been a first choice for the last 15 months. It again underlined just how far ahead Celtic are domestically and they perhaps felt they had a point to prove having surrendered a 2-0 lead against the same opponents in that recent league match.

However, it gives Thelin something to aim for and food for thought.

Before Saturday, Aberdeen's season has been magnificent. The semi-final saw them lose a game from open play for the first time since mid-March and they have chiselled open a nine point gap on third-placed Rangers. They have a lot to be pleased with and positive about.

But, this is the first moment of adversity for Thelin and he has away games at St Mirren, Hibernian and Hearts to come after the Dundee game with another clash with Celtic on the other side.

It will be interesting to see if they can recover quickly from their blip on Glasgow's south side.

Gary Scott
Fan writer

What's the Swedish for 'bouncebackability'?

It was going to come to an end at some point.

Every Aberdeen fan across the country and further beyond was fully aware that the Dons' spectacular unbeaten run would fall away eventually. At 26 matches (one short of the all-time club record) and 231 calendar days, the very fact that Aberdeen managed to turn the darkest moments under Barry Robson and Neil Warnock into such a run is nothing short of remarkable.

Yes, Saturday afternoon's humbling at Hampden hurts. No fan is ever going to view a 6-0 defeat in a cup semi-final as being acceptable but such is the monumental start that Jimmy Thelin has made to his Aberdeen career that the quiet and methodical Swede has significant credit in the bank that will allow him to comfortably ride this bump in the road with the Red Army.

The long and short of Saturday evening's tie is simple. Aberdeen didn't turn up, words echoed by captain Graeme Shinnie, while Celtic looked primed and ready to ruthlessly exploit the Dons failings. There's a strong argument to suggest that the midweek win over Rangers at Pittodrie had drained the men in red both physically and, perhaps more crucially, mentally.

Celtic's ability to rest five or six players in their routine win over Dundee on Wednesday night shows the difference in squad depth that the sides are dealing with. Thelin was, perhaps, a little guilty of being too loyal to certain players in his starting eleven on Saturday afternoon but you can be sure that he will have learned a lot about his squad and his own approach as the goals flew in at the national stadium.

As Thelin said, sometimes in football, things can run away from you quickly. Celtic found that to their cost during their heavy defeat to Borussia Dortmund just a few short weeks ago and Thelin will be hoping that his Aberdeen side can bounce back in a similar manner to how Celtic have recovered from their own humbling in Germany.

This will be an extremely interesting week in the Dons camp. A first major setback for this group of players and coaching team to deal with and how they react when Dundee visit on Saturday will tell us a lot about how the rest of this campaign will likely turn out for them. Another sold-out Pittodrie awaits with the hope to see their side head into another international break still riding high in the table.

Gary Scott can be found on the ABZ Football Podcast., external

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin was an invited guest of legendary Aberdeen manager Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

Thelin had said it was an ambition of his to meet Ferguson, who won 10 major trophies at Pittodrie, including three league titles and a European Cup Winners Cup.

Swedish manager Thelin has had an unbeaten start to the Scottish Premiership season, with Aberdeen level on points at the top with champions Celtic.

We asked for your thoughts on Aberdeen's 6-0 League Cup semi-final defeat by Celtic on Saturday.

Here's what you had to say:

Ben: Look, it's one game, one loss. We know that Celtic can be devastating when they're on their game. The most important game is our next one. You see teams go on losing streaks after long winning streaks very often, so I hope Jimmy Thelin can bring us back to equilibrium, and the team forgets about this game as soon as possible.

Ross: We looked drained after the emotion of Wednesday night! There wasn’t a single Aberdeen player on it and there wasn’t a single Celtic player off it. Brendan Rodgers was probably the most pumped up person in the entire stadium as he was desperate to lay down another marker; the 'kicking away the ball' incident showed what it meant to him!

Euan: Playing the same starting 11 from midweek was a mistake. Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Nilsen were all over the place, and defensively we were poor. A steep learning curve for Jimmy.

Mike: Looked off it from the start, Slobodan Rubezic being booked early on seemed to show a return to last seasons over eagerness. I felt we were too hyped up and didn’t play as well as we had all season, need to learn from this, also felt Thelin could have changed things formation wise early on to counter Celtic overrunning us in midfield.

Eric: I predicted that Aberdeen would lose heavily, with the big pitch, heavy going and Celtic resting players during the week, but it’s all part of the learning curve and building towards second or third in the league and European football next year. We are still heading in the right direction, so stick to the plan and we will be alright. Rest up and lets go again

Stuart: That’s what you call coming back down to earth with a bang, we were simply beaten by the better team, just the manner of the defeat was disappointing. Not a single save for the Celtic goalkeeper tells the story, so back to league business on Saturday and hopefully normal service will be resumed.

Marty: A humbling defeat and a reality check to gulf between the clubs, but there’s no need to panic, Jimmy and the squad will learn a lot from this and use it to move forward. The players will be hurting but we have use the positives we have seen so far this season and ensure we don't lose momentum. We are still the second best team in the league!

Joe: I'm 100% behind Jimmy and the team. My view in August was I'd settle for top-four at Christmas as a sign of much needed progress. The rather fortunate 2-2 draw disguised the gulf between the two teams. Cup semis and Europe are my hopes as a fan, anything else is bonus. The Dons must find ways to make games hard for the Old Firm, especially this Celtic team.

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Graeme Shinnie says the 6-0 League Cup semi-final thrashing by Celtic is "a massive learning curve" for Aberdeen's squad but is confident they can put the crushing disappointment behind them.

The Dons had gone into the game unbeaten in 16 games, including a 2-2 league draw at Celtic Park, under manager Jimmy Thelin, but it was Brendan Rodgers' domestically unbeaten side who progressed to face either Motherwell or Rangers in the final.

"It is going to hurt for the next couple of days," midfielder Shinnie admitted. "Defeats like that do, but I think we have to analyse it then get over it and look forward to next week and turning it round and getting back to winning ways.

"We have had a good start in the league and it is a league game next week against Dundee at home with a sell-out crowd again, so we need to repay that with a good performance."

Shinnie had a simple explanation when asked what made the difference between the league draw and the cup capitulation.

"That is what happens if we are not at the top of our game," he told BBC Scotland. "Celtic are a good team if you let them play to their strengths.

"When they are at the top of their game like that, we need to match it with the top of our game and we weren't there, so when we don't play well and they are playing well like that, it is a bit of a recipe for disaster, so it is a massive learning curve for the squad."

Aberdeen had beaten Rangers 2-1 in a tense midweek Premiership game at Pittodrie to move nine points clear of the visitors along with Celtic, but Shinnie was not for using that as an excuse.

"We prepared well for the game, recovered well after Wednesday, prepared as we normally would," he added.

"We didn't make our mark, we had a couple of chances in the second half, but we didn't do enough on the day to hurt them going forward and the goals that we lost were really sloppy, so a mix of everything is a bad day."

Were you at Hampden or following the match from home?

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

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin told Premier Sports: "This is football. Celtic were really strong today.

"When it goes wrong and they're so skilful, it can stick away like this. We have to look at the bigger picture, how the fans stick with us.

"It's the first bump in the road, most importantly for us now is how we move on in the future.

"We can't let this game define us. We have to move on. We always take it game by game."

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

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Just as they were at Celtic Park, the Dons were happy to concede possession and for half an hour their defensive shape was fairly resolute.

But Cameron Carter-Vickers' simple opener from Arne Engels' corner opened the floodgates and Jimmy Thelin's side were simply unable to deal with their relentless opposition.

Continually they were overrun in midfield and were also ruthlessly punished for mistakes.

Slobodan Rubezic losing possession on halfway resulted in Celtic's second, Devlin was too deep for the first of Maeda's treble, and Kuhn escaped a challenge too many for the fourth.

On a sobering night for Thelin, his task now is to ensure the manner of this defeat does not deliver long-term damage to his players after a stunning start to the campaign.

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor insists Aberdeen "deserve" to be where they are this season.

The midfielder, 31, says his side will be treating Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final with the "utmost respect", with the Dons level on points with the Scottish Premiership leaders after 10 games.

They drew 2-2 when they met in the league earlier this season and McGregor expects a tough test at Hampden.

"When you watch them, they're really well organised, they've got a really good idea of what they're trying to do and then what the wins do is they just gather belief and as soon as that happens then momentum can be such a big thing in football," said McGregor.

"They've obviously done a lot of good work over the summer and they've carried that into the games and you speak about that snowball effect.

"They are where they are and they deserve to be there. So we have to treat everyone with the utmost respect and bring our level to the game.

"I’ve been really impressed by them and it will be another tough game."

Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie is benefitting from having "tweaked" his diet this season. (Record), external

The Dons are seeking to end a 32-year wait for a Hampden win over Celtic in Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final. (Scotsman - subscription), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says his side "don't think too much" about their last meeting with Celtic as the sides prepare to lock horns in the League Cup semi-finals on Saturday.

The Dons have started the season in blistering form and are unbeaten in the 16 games they have played in all competitions, winning 15.

That lengthy run includes a pulsating 2-2 draw with Celtic last month, a match that saw Thelin's side come back from two goals down to secure a point at Parkhead.

"We don’t think too much about the last game," Thelin said. "It is a new game, it is a cup game, so for us it is just to prepare for this specific game and not thinking about the last game we played against them.

"Of course I can imagine Brendan [Rodgers] and Celtic learned things about us and we also learned things about them, but then it is more to respect their qualities and find the weakness. We have to prepare ourselves for this game on Saturday.

"We know what they are good at, we know their strengths, for us it is more about trying to be even better in our parts of the game, have a strong belief in what we are going to do and keep working on that.

"It is a cup game. It is winning or losing and we have to have a strong belief in what we are doing as usual. Brendan is a good coach, Celtic are a good team but also we know the situation, it is a semi-final so we have to prepare for that one."

As well as taking points off Celtic last month, Aberdeen defeated third-place Rangers 2-1 at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.

Does having that knowledge that they are capable of getting the job done hold them in good stead for Saturday's trip to the national stadium?

"We talk more about preparing ourselves and believing in what we are doing," Thelin added. "It is a football game, you always to have to respect the opponent but believe in our identity.

"The team spirit is really strong, that is what we are working with."

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Celtic welcome back Callum McGregor, Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn from injury. The cup-tied Luke McCowan will drop out while Odin Thiago Holm remains out with calf problems.

Aberdeen striker Kevin Nisbet is expected to return from injury. Dante Polvara is training after a hamstring injury but unlikely to feature and Pape Habib Gueye (quad) remains out.

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• Aberdeen have lost all nine Hampden meetings with Celtic since last beating them at the national stadium 32 years ago when Eoin Jess scored in a 1-0 win in the League Cup semi-final.

• Celtic and Aberdeen last met in the League Cup in the 2018 final, with the Parkhead side - led by Brendan Rodgers in his first spell in charge - lifting the trophy after Ryan Christie scored the only goal.

• Aberdeen have won the League Cups six times, with their last coming in 2014 when they beat Inverness CT on penalties after a goalless draw.

• Celtic have won the League Cup on 21 occasions, most recently in 2023 when they beat Rangers 2-1 in the final.

• Aberdeen lost the final 1-0 last year to Rangers, the 10th time the Dons have finished runners-up.

• The Pittodrie men, who started in the group stage, have won six ties against lower-league sides to reach Hampden, scoring 20 goals and conceding just one (a 2-1 win over Aridrie).

• Celtic have made the last four by beating Hibs 3-1 and Falkirk 5-2.

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Nicky Devlin is urging Aberdeen to bring their second-half Parkhead performance to Hampden on Saturday.

The Dons head into the League Cup semi-final on a high after beating Rangers in midweek to stay neck and neck with Celtic at the Premiership summit and make it 15 wins and a draw under new boss Jimmy Thelin.

Now they have the chance to edge closer to silverware, and right-back Devlin cited the recent second-half comeback at Celtic Park where the Dons fought back from 2-0 half-down to rescue a draw.

"We showed last time against Celtic that we can obviously score goals against them," the Scotland cap sad.

"We have to bring that second-half performance against Celtic from the very start because I think the first half against Celtic wasn't great.

"We probably let them get too much of a foothold in the game. They scored a couple of goals. So we know we need to keep it a wee bit tighter at the back against them.

"But we know we've got goals within the team.

"To be honest I think come Saturday, if we want to go through, we probably will have to put a 90-minute performance in or 120, whatever it may be.

"I don't think we can probably be as poor in the first half as we were at Parkhead. Again, we have to be better on that."