Jimmy Thelin has insisted Aberdeen are very much active and are ready for every eventuality going into the January transfer window.
The Swede will be looking to strengthen his Dons squad for the second half of the campaign and that work is already well under way. Aberdeen sit in second place but there are positions within his group that need strengthened. There is also the added risk for the Dons with the likes of Duk, Jack MacKenzie and Jamie McGrath all going into the last six months of their Pittodrie contracts and suitors could try and thrash out a cut-price January deal.
Thelin claimed: “I think the market is, how can I say, it’s free in one way. You can try to anticipate things in and out inside a squad and you always try to be ready and prepare players to take over if someone is leaving. So this is how we see it on the market. Sometimes you expect someone will not leave, but then it’s changed. But I think we have a good control on the situation right now and it seems like we are ready to keep going and try to build a strong squad that can cope with the intense schedule.”
A defensive cover will be a priority with no natural right-back cover for Nicky Devlin and possibly another wide man with Vicente Besuijen likely to face a long spell on the sidelines, after he suffered a knee injury in the recent draw with St Johnstone, along with Jack Milne, who has an ankle issue. Thelin added: “Now we have some injuries, but also some players have the opportunity to show themselves and they have shown good things, so we’re going to take it from that.
“We have always tried to be ahead and plan what we want to improve, but also it can change during the season. We always have recruitment work that’s ongoing every week because the market is always open for everybody, so it’s changing. But also we want our own players to develop.
“I think it’s also important to see how they have that respect for the players already here and they’re taking steps.”
The Aberdeen boss has a strong grip on the Scandinavian markets. It is expected that he could return there with a lot of their players out of contract now. Thelin was non-committal on that and insisted it is about getting the right players who want to come to Aberdeen. The most important thing is that the player we bring is going to help us to get better in the way we want to play,” the former Elfsborg boss said. “Also that the player really wants to come here, so it’s more about that.
“Then it’s not about the market itself, it’s more about not just taking someone but actually what we can reach and the opportunity. Sometimes it’s a market opportunity that we can bring.”
He has stated that when it comes to recruitment it is not all about ability. Thelin explained: “Yeah, I think the personality and character is the first thing you look at
“Then bring the talent in, because it’s teamwork and they’re ready to take the responsibility to play in this team, they’re going to accept the role. It’s leadership inside the player, it’s a potential player, or it’s a direct impact player you’re going to sign. All these kinds of things are always important when you sign a player.”
The Dons were active in January bringing in Dimitar Mitov, Gavin Molloy, Peter Ambrose, Topi Keskinen, Ante Palaversa, Sivert Nilsen and Kevin Nisbet. Some have hit the ground running but Thelin admitted that it could take others up to six months to adjust. He said: “We all know that if you sign a new player, it usually takes six months before they adapt into a new context, a new team, a new culture, a new league, even if it’s a player from experience, but usually it takes six months.
“That’s normal all over the world so sometimes it goes quicker, sometimes it’s longer. So it’s always good to try to anticipate things as they’re going, but let’s see, the market is there, so we always have work ongoing.”
Thelin gave his squad a few days off at the weekend before they prepare to return at home and look to get back to winning ways against Hibs this weekend.