Alan Burrows: Jimmy Thelin has shown why he is the right man for Aberdeen
Aberdeen chief executive Alan Burrows insists manager Jimmy Thelin has proven he is the man for the Dons.
Thelin capped a remarkable first season in Scottish football by guiding the club to Scottish Cup glory at Hampden last weekend.
The penalty shootout win against Celtic ended the Dons' 35-year wait to bring the trophy back to the Granite City.
Following the disappointment of finishing fifth in the Premiership, the cup win also guaranteed the club group stage football in Europe next season in the process.
A glorious finale to an emotional wringer of a season for the club has ensured the Dons head into the summer on a high.
But for Burrows, the success of the club's manager, and the patience afforded to Thelin during a difficult mid-season slump, shows why he is the right man for the club.
The Dons chief executive said: 'It's crazy, my former chairman once said very poetically in football that one minute you're a peacock, the next you're a feather duster.
'I suppose the same is true in the opposite way.
'That's the nature of football, that's a lesson. You don't get too high and you try not to get too low when things aren't going as well.
'Try to maintain that all the time, particularly when you are working towards a project, when you are bringing someone in on the idea of a three-to-five year plan.
'You've got to accept that there will be bumps along the way.
'In modern football now, people aren't prepared to put up with bumps – they just want constant success.
'Hopefully what we've demonstrated through the season was a resoluteness about this project, a resoluteness about this manager and we'll continue to try and back him going into the future.'
Aberdeen are determined to develop a long-term vision for the club after several years of constant changes at Pittodrie.
The Dons have started the last five seasons with a different manager in the dugout and Burrows believes a period of stability is long overdue at the club.
He said: 'We said when we appointed Jimmy, this is a long project.
'Aberdeen are trying to get away from this churn of managers that we've had over the previous four or five seasons and we were saying to everybody at the start, 'this is going to require patience, this is going to require a bit of time'.
'And then we go and win 11 games out of 12 and completely blow that up.
'I think what that does is that it takes everybody's expectations up really, really quickly, but we always knew that in the first season – as he was getting used to Scottish football and building his team – that it would take a bit of time and effort.
'That manifested itself through the middle of the season, but I think the mark of anyone is to try and keep calm, keep doing the things that you are doing, not abandon your principles.
'To me, that's the ultimate credit. He's remained the same guy from day one until the cup final.
'That's a mark of a really good manager, who can keep on that straight line.
'Jimmy has done remarkably well.'
In the ultra-competitive and emotionally charged environment of football, Thelin's ice-cool persona has set him apart from many of his peers – and his work colleagues at Pittodrie.
The fist pump and roar of jubilation following the Dons' Scottish Cup win last weekend was a rare but totally understandable show of emotion from the Swede.
Burrows believes the measured and composed approach is the perfect foil at a club like Aberdeen.
The chief executive said: 'I think we need him to be calm, because he's one of the few people who is calm, when you take me, the chairman and others – all very emotional.
'It's an emotional football club because it's got such a rich history, it's got such a big expectation because it's a big city.
'When you've got that, people like Jimmy who are calm in there ensures everyone is on the straight and narrow.
'He's very, very good. Not only for around about the club, but managing upwards, sideways and downwards. He's a really good guy.'
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