Aberdeen have well and truly lost their fear of losing and Topi Keskinen has insisted it is only a matter of time before Jimmy Thelin’s side get back on track.
The Dons’ form has taken a nosedive after seven games without a victory. It is in sharp contrast to the long unbeaten run they kicked off with under Thelin at the start of the season. Keskinen and the Dons are looking to get back on track at Dundee United this evening. The Finnish international said: “Of course, when you win, you get your momentum going – every bounce comes to you and everything feels so easy.
“But when you don’t win games much harder and you cannot get the results. Of course it’s hard but I’m sure it change for us. We turned the tables at my old club (HJK) before and I will help the team do it again here.”
The positive for Aberdeen is they already have points in the bank and, despite the recent slide, are still in third place, just one point behind Rangers. But things are tightening up behind them. United are just six points behind and will be looking to cut that to three with a home win at Tannadice.
Keskinen stated: “There will always be difficult points in every season. When we get back to winning ways we will be stronger because we have lost the games and we don’t need to be scared. When we were winning every game, we were a little bit scared that we would lose. Now we have lost games that won’t be a factor.”
Thelin is now looking to the January window to bolster his squad for the second half of the campaign and to help book their European return. Keskinen was one of the big arrivals in the summer, joining for around £750,000 from HJK. The 21-year-old is pleased with the way things have gone at Aberdeen so far and said: “Yeah, it’s good and I like the football here.
“It’s a completely different than in Finland where the tempo is slow and we play against a low block. There is not intensity like we have here. So it’s been really nice. I enjoy this type of football more when it goes a bit more intense. I like it.”
Keskinen had options in Europe, including Blackburn and Cagliari with interest from Major League Soccer, but chose the Dons. He said: “I knew this place already after HJK had played Aberdeen in the Europa League Conference groups last season.
“It was quite easy to decide after that. I thought the Scottish game would suit me quite well. I didn’t think, ‘Yeah, I will be moving to Aberdeen now’. But they had obviously been impressed with my games against them and the scouting reports.
“If not then I wouldn’t be here but I was glad to feel wanted. The club have shown faith in me and I want to repay them.”
Keskinen also moved to the Premiership because he thinks the football here suits him and will get the best out of him. The 21-year-old claimed: “It’s different here. Look at the Hibs game, for example. In the first half, there was quite a lot of space. I can use my strengths more here.”
It has already brought instant dividends with his breakthrough into the full Finnish team. He now has four caps, including home and away appearances against England, and Keskinen said: “It’s been a really good experience playing against good national teams.
“It was really nice to play at Wembley and I also enjoyed playing England at home. Those games don’t come around often. You won’t play at Wembley many times.
“It was a good experience. I was at Aberdeen only a few weeks then I went straight into the national team. The team did quite well at Wembley as well. We had chances so it’s been good.”
Finland are set to appoint a new boss to replace Mark Kanerva going into the World Cup qualifiers. With games looming against Poland, Lithuania, Malta and either Spain or Netherlands, it’s an extra incentive for Keskinen to catch the eye at club level.