Sivert Nilsen knows Aberdeen will need to “step up” if they want to extend their 100 per cent start to the season against Celtic.
The Dons face their toughest test of the campaign so far when they travel to Glasgow to take on the Premiership leaders, who are just above them on goal difference. Nilsen has accepted that Aberdeen will need to up their performance because in the last two games they only just edged past Dundee and Hearts. He stated: “The last two games have not been the best version of Aberdeen. I really hope the performance from us can be a little bit better in some parts of the game to create more chances and we also let in a little bit too much in the last two games. To get a result at Celtic Park we need to step up a little bit.”
The Norwegian knows that Aberdeen have to concentrate on themselves and making sure their own performance at Parkhead is on the money. He said: “I would be looking forward to this game no matter the form we were in.
“It is a big match and will be a big experience. We have to prepare like all the other games. We don’t think about Celtic. We think about ourselves and our own performance.
“We always talk about how we can get a little bit better. We address what we want to do more of and the ideas are very clear. There is nothing new. We know how we want to play and things are very clear.
“It is just to get better even in this match. We might get tested a little bit more in some parts of the game. They play with a high intensity and we need to be ready for it. We also want to play with a high intensity. Let’s see it is going to be very interesting to see them.”
Aberdeen have still to hit top gear and Nilsen knows that a lot of this run has been down to team spirit and digging deep. Two traits that will be needed in abundance tomorrow afternoon.
The veteran stated: “I think we have a lot to improve. That is a good thing. When results are good it is easier to work on the things that haven’t been so good because you have that confidence from winning.
“You can also be a little bit hard on yourself because you know the performances haven’t been good enough. You can tell yourself that you were very bad in a game but you still have the confidence and stability in the team and individually.
“You grow more when you win. The team spirit and mentality inside the group that has got us results even though we have struggled at times. Hopefully, we can have that tomorrow as well.”