Aberdeen under Jimmy Thelin: Pressure, pressing and no punting

When Thelin officially got to work in early June, despite being announced in April, he said he was “here to create something special”.

It raised eyebrows given Aberdeen had just finished the season in the bottom six, sacked Barry Robson when the club were eighth and suffered a 33-day saga with Neil Warnock in charge.

When Warnock called time on his short stint, some perceived the club to be in chaos.

Peter Leven steadied the ship, again, and left a healthier-looking handover for Thelin.

Still, it was expected Thelin would need time to galvanise a group of under-performing players low on confidence.

Instead, Aberdeen have generated momentum like a steam train with no upcoming stops.

But what exactly are the fans loving about Thelin’s management?

“There is real bravery on the ball,” Bull said. “They don’t just launch the ball forward, they play lots of long passes when there is the time to do it, they don’t just do it instantly to ‘get rid’.

“When there’s pressure, they accept the pressure and try to play through it.

“The press changes to where it needs to be, they’re all very good at pressing. They’re forcing teams into making errors they don’t want to make, and then they’re also counter-pressing really well.

“That means they can then play the ball forward long when they want to because they know there will be bodies in the right positions.

“The team looks really well coached by a very good coach.”