Jimmy Thelin is going to Ibrox with the belief Aberdeen can make it a dream double and get their season back on track.
The Dons haven’t won in 11 games and the manager knows there would be no better place to start their revival than against Rangers on Wednesday. Thelin’s side beat the Light Blues back in October and he knows his players will be heading to Ibrox with the belief they can do it.
Thelin said: “You always have to believe that you can do something when you go into a game and compete. We have a clear plan of what we want to do. But also, Rangers have been good at home, we know that. So we have to be really good and believe in what we’re doing and give everything we can. When you go to a game, you have to believe in yourself. You have to take the challenge and try to compete and have a strong belief that you can win the game.
“Otherwise, there’s no need to go out there. It’s a tough challenge, of course, and every game is difficult and you have to be ready to compete.
“Also, the intensity between these two teams when they play against each other, the atmosphere is a good challenge to have right now, and our focus is on giving our best performance so we can and try to get some points from there.”
Alfie Dorrington and Alexander Jensen are Aberdeen’s latest signings. Thelin has also brought in Jeppe Okkels and Kristers Tobers and refused to rule out further movement. He said: “The window is open and let’s see what’s happening. We always try to strengthen the team.
“Sometimes we don’t do anything more and sometimes maybe we do. Let’s see how the team develops now and which players can be closer to coming back, but still it’s a lot of weeks for most of the players, so let’s see how the game goes and the cup game at the weekend.”
Aberdeen have struggled for goals in recent games and Thelin believes it is about getting more quality in the final third and more bodies into the box. He added: “You can always find players who can do things on their own. The thing we need to do is help as a team.
“We need to create more dangerous chances. I talked about this after the game against Hearts. We were creating more chances but we need to be arriving (in the box) with more players. We also create space for each other when we arrive in the box. So it’s teamwork.”
Defender Jack MacKenzie again misses out. Thelin confirmed: “Jack is not still available, Mackenzie is still under treatment, so let’s see for the weekend. Otherwise, some players are under some assessment and let’s see what’s happening in the next coming hours. It’s not a big thing with Jack, but he needs some treatment and some freshness in the legs.”