Jimmy Thelin has admitted he will have to manage the likes of Gavin Molloy and Topi Keskinen to make sure they don’t burnout after a red-hot start with Aberdeen.
The likes of Sivert Nilsen and Pape Habib Gueye could also come into that equation. The quartet have all come off six months of solid playing time in Ireland, Finland and Norway, respectively. They have come to Scotland and will then need to play a full season here and the situation isn’t helped by the fact there is no domestic break this winter. All four have been key figures in the Dons 100% start to the season and Thelin also knows that they have hit the ground running because they have arrived at Pittodrie fully-fit and ready to go.
The Aberdeen boss explained: “We try to think about that when we are recruiting players. Are they in season or off-season? Sometimes you can mix that, if they are available or for what the team needs right now. It was good for Topi and Gavin that they were still in the season. That can be good. We saw that in Sweden as well. You also need to be thinking about the whole team and what we need right now and what level the players are at so we can keep going. “Hopefully, he can keep going because it is going to be a long season for him.
“We hope we can manage him until he reaches the end of the tournament in May. Gavin, though, looks like a strong guy and clever in the way he recovers. He has adapted really well. “It is also up to the staff and I to manage him, so he can last the season but he has done really well.”
Aberdeen travel to Dundee looking to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games. Thelin has made full use of his squad and they have all chipped in and contributed. So much so that even captain Graeme Shinnie didn’t get back into the team for the Spartans game because of the form of Ante Palaversa. For Thelin, it is all about the collective.
“We know we need everyone for the whole season,” the Aberdeen boss claimed. “It is good that everyone has the rhythm together. When someone is out then somebody else steps in and puts in a good performance. That is healthy competition we need to keep the quality.”