Jimmy Thelin ready for Aberdeen Europa League challenge as he lifts lid on Arne Slot showdown

Daily Record

2 days ago

The Dons will discover their Europa League opponents in Monday's draw
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin is looking for another Slot at Europe's biggest managerial names.
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The Dons go into Monday's Europa League play-off draw.
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The options will be narrowed down before then but potentially Aberdeen could face the likes of Panathinaikos, PAOK, Young Boys, Ferencvaros, Copenhagen, Legia Warsaw or Midtjylland.
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The Swede said: 'I haven't looked at it yet, let's see. It's impossible to know who it's going to be, but it's going to be exciting to see after the Hearts' game who we're going to play against.'
Thelin is no stranger to this sort of arena as he also led Elfsborg into the group stages.
It also gave him the opportunity to lock horns with the likes of Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who was at Feyenoord at the time.
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It was back in 2020 when Elfsborg won 3-1 at home but then lost the second leg of their Europa Conference League 5-0 in the Netherlands to the eventual finalists, who were pipped to the trophy by Roma.
Thelin recalled: 'They (Feyenoord) were at their peak. They went to two finals in a row. They were really good against us. We made some mistakes away there, but at home they came with the same team.
'We won 3-1 and it was so close to us actually going 3-0 up from a corner. We hit the post and then the transition after they scored to make it 2-1, so the game died a little bit after that.
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'But again, the exposure for the players to play the big games is important. That's how you develop.'
It was a major aim of Thelin to get Aberdeen back into Europe. He stated: 'That's the thing, you always want to be better and you want to be that team who plays in Europe.
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'Of course, that was one of our big goals last season and it's going to be the same goal this season.
'But now we also have to compete in this European game, so we're just happy to be there and proud of the team from last season.
'Now we have to focus on this season and try to do it again.'
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Thelin will have some decisions to make as he will have to leave out some of his senior players to fit the criteria.
'Let's see how the squad looks during this time,' Thelin claimed. 'We keep working and let's see. If it happens, it happens, then it's going to be like that. We're always going to try to think about the whole picture.
'We have four competitions. We have the two cups and then the league, of course, and then Europe. Everybody will play an important part, but maybe someone has to be out of the squad.'
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Aberdeen last made the group stage two years ago and it impacted on their domestic form and cost Barry Robson his job. Thelin knows his squad needs to be competitive on all fronts.
He said: 'It's also to be competitive against other teams in Europe, but then come home and keep the passion for the fantastic league you play in and understand these demands all the time.
'The highlight is the difficulty, it's just more the experience of playing games all the time. You don't need to train, it's perfect for everyone. It's just playing games, that's what you want to do.'
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Aberdeen start their Premiership push away to Hearts tomorrow evening. Thelin is confident his team is primed and ready to go.
Thelin added: 'When you have a pre-season you have to be ready. '
You are as good as you are when you start the season then hopefully you can develop and grow during the season.
'We are ready for an exciting game away against Hearts, to play in front of our away supporters. The atmosphere will be good and it is a competitive game so there are lots of positives. We are ready for this game.'