Jimmy Thelin thinks it would be unfair to draw a comparison between Oday Dabbagh and former Aberdeen hero Bojan Miovski.
The new loan signing from Charleroi made his debut as he came off the bench to see out the closing minutes of the weekend win at Dundee. The striker has already impressed Thelin and his team mates in training with some claims saying that he is very similar in style to Miovski – who impressed at Pittodrie before he won a club record sale to Girona earlier this season.
The Palestine striker, like Miovski, is also left-sided and a goalscorer but that is where it ends for the Aberdeen manager. He said: “No, I don’t think like that. I don’t like to compare players, I think every player is unique in one way. So I haven’t thought so much about that myself, actually. But what he has is a good ball touch. He’s good at finding positions inside the box and is also a good finisher.
“Let’s see how he connects with the team and how we play. Of course he needs time, like everybody else, but I think he’s a clever player and can adapt really quickly. He has his strength in the link play with other players, but also always finds space to finish inside the box.”
Cormack Park is a very different place this week, on the back of two wins and a first Premiership win in 15 games. The Dons are also back in third place and will look to build on that when former boss Derek McInnes takes his Kilmarnock side north.
Thelin brought in the likes of Kristers Tobers, Alexander Jensen, Alfie Dorrington, Dabbagh, Mats Knoester and Jeppe Okkels in during the last window. He now believes the competition is as strong as it has ever been. That has been borne out with the likes of captain Graeme Shinnie and Nicky Devlin left on the bench recently.
“The competition inside the squad is stronger,” Thelin insisted. “That’s forced everyone to take another step up. I think the team is growing again in the right direction. Hopefully, now we can put a challenging time behind us and keep building on this now. “But still, it’s always game by game.”
Versatile full-back Jensen, in particular, has hit the ground running since he made the switch from Sweden side Brommapojkarna. The Aberdeen boss admitted: “I think everything needs some time sometimes.
“The players have different backgrounds also. “Every week will help us to get stronger and stronger and that is really important for us right now in the part of the season we are for the goals we have and the ambition we have for the season. “Also, some players have different skills, some are more technique, powerful, speed, and some are better on the understanding of the game, so it’s a mix of everything. “Sometimes it’s going quicker for some players when it comes to adaptation and they can create relations really quickly.”
Aberdeen are looking to finish on a high in the league and in the Scottish Cup. They face shock troops Queen’s Park in the quarter-finals at home. The Dons narrowly squeezed past the Spiders in the Premier Sports Cup earlier this season.
Thelin claimed: “I am looking forward to the cup, of course. “It was good that we got through the last game against Dunfermline. “It’s good to play at home, but we know a cup game is a knockout and that’s why it’s so exciting, but we will be ready.”