Aberdeen gaffer Jimmy Thelin says their spanking off Celtic at Hampden WON’T derail their Premiership form.
The Dons crashed out of the Premier Sports Cup after being battered 6-0 by Brendan Rodgers’ side. It ended their 16-game unbeaten run as the Hoops inflicted their first defeat of the campaign. Thelin was disappointed to suffer his first loss as boss but says it’s vital his players learn from the experience. He’s convinced they’ll bounce back from their Hampden set-back and continue to keep pace with Celtic at the top of the league.
The Swede said afterwards: “Celtic performed really well but we’ll take learning points from this game. Sometimes football can be like this. When things start to go wrong, it can go wrong quickly and we couldn’t find a way back today. The game got away from us because of their quality and we have things to improve on for the future so we can keep growing.
“We want to be in this situation. Playing important games at Hampden, being in Europe and being strong in the league. We want to cope with this intensity.
“Of course I’m not happy after losing 6-0 in a semi-final. But we’re out. The game is over and the most important thing is how we act after a setback.
“How we work tomorrow and prepare for our next game. How we keep strength in our identity and don’t lose our belief. I feel that’s still strong.
“When you’re winning it can be easy. But when you have tough times, it’s important how you act. I don’t want any excuses today. We have to get used to this environment.
“I’m confident we’ll respond in the right way. Our identity is clear. We can’t let one setback hurt us in that way. It’s only one game, not the whole season. We have to move on.”
Thelin has never got carried away this term, even with Aberdeen’s incredible run of league form. And that humility is what will get them back on track according to the Pittodrie boss.
He said: “Today, Celtic were really good and we weren’t really there. They hurt us hard. But we’re strong enough to move on to our next game against Dundee at home and it will be the same process. We have to be humble and learn from these situations.”