Thelin has stated that he “accepts” his fate following the decision to end his time in the North-East.
The Swede enjoyed a historic high during his tenure, leading Aberdeen to Scottish Cup glory with a memorable victory over holders Celtic at the national stadium. However, despite that success, his spell in the Granite City has now come to an end. Thelin met with the Aberdeen board — Dave Cormack, Allan Burrows and Lutz Pfannenstiel — to formally conclude his departure, as the club begins its search for a sixth manager in the space of just four years. It is fair to say Thelin was backed financially, with significant investment made in Bilalovic, Milanovic and highly rated youngster Mitchell Frame. However, none were able to consistently live up to expectations. Peter Leven will take interim charge alongside Craig Hinchliffe for the upcoming double-header next week, where Aberdeen will face Rangers at Ibrox. Thelin said: “Today my time as manager at Aberdeen comes to an end. It is with great respect for this historic Club that I accept this decision. “Results ultimately decide the tenure of this profession, and as such I take my share of responsibility. “I believe wholly in the work that was done; however, football doesn’t always allow time for belief to become results. I would like to thank the players for their commitment and effort during my time as their coach, and the staff who worked every day with loyalty and pride. “I would also like to thank the supporters. Your passion for your team never waivers, even in disappointment. “Aberdeen will forever be a part of my journey, and it has been an honour to lead this great Club and share that memorable day together at Hampden. “I leave wishing success to everyone involved both on and off the pitch.” Chairman Dave Cormack added: “In wishing Jimmy and Christer the very best for the future I want to thank them for delivering our first Scottish Cup win in 35 years last May. “These memories will last a lifetime, and Jimmy will be forever etched into Aberdeen’s history for delivering such a special day for our supporters, as only one of six Aberdeen managers to win the Scottish Cup in our storied 122-year history. “However, after significant investment in recent windows, we have not kicked on in the way we hoped or expected following that success. We have tried to give the situation as much time as possible, but recent performances have been significantly below the standards we expect, and we believe it is now right to take a different direction.”
Jimmy Thelin sacked following a disappointing league campaign so far
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin has been shown the exit door following a very poor season for Aberdeen this season as the Dons sit eighth in the Premiership. It is confirmed that it’s over for the Swedish boss as his time in the granite city has came to an end. Jimmy Thelin joined the Dons from Elfsborg back in 2024. Jimmy started off the best he could’ve hoped going on an 11 game unbeaten streak including a win over Rangers and coming back from 2-0 away to Celtic to level the game to 2-2. The Dons then went on a poor run of form which began with a 6-0 battering at Hampden against Celtic. In the League, Aberdeen went 14 games without a win which came as a shock following their exceptional league start. Just after the Christmas period, Aberdeen looked a lot better as they managed to see out wins again but some heavy defeats also. Aberdeen did book a place in the Scottish Cup Semi-finals as they defeated Hearts where they had a chance for silverware against the holders, Celtic. Aberdeen did manage to end their 35-year run without winning the Scottish Cup as a penalty shootout victory earned Aberdeen the proudest moment in recent times. Although, this season hasn’t brought the same emotions as it’s been a pretty dull campaign so far. Aberdeen were dumped out the Europa League by FCSB which they gained Conference League football but really struggled as they ended the campaign 35th out of 36 teams with 0 wins on the board. They also fell short in the Scottish League Cup to Motherwell after a 1-0 defeat at Pittodrie. Aberdeen sit 8th in the League after 20 games with 7 wins, 4 draws and 9 defeats. Thelin has now matched former Dons boss, Barry Robson’s win percentage at 42%. It is also noted Jimmy Thelin had offered his resignation twice back in November as it is set to be game over for Jimmy Thelin tonight.
Light at the end of the tunnel as Hamilton Accies complete takeover
Hamilton have today announced the takeover by Morley Sports Management Group after recent struggles. MSMG have taken 97.5% of the shares at the League One side taking the shares from Seref Zengin. Hamilton Accies have also confirmed that trio; Rob Edwards, Neil Blankstone and Allan Currie will take the hot seat as the board members at Hamilton. Rob Edwards and Neil Blankstone have been assigned as directors with Allan Currie being in interim chairman. Marley Sports Management is an investment and management team within the sports industry. The group works with Welsh outfit, Haverford West County FC. The team are also owners at American based Ohio Valley Wresting in Kentucky. Edwards took over the Welsh club in 2020 which have went on to be a dominant side in Wales competing in UEFA competitions in recent years. Neil has 40-years’ experience to his name as a top Investment manager as well as Allan Currie who in past times was the boss of Inward Investment within Scotland. In recent years, Hamilton have been forced to battle many storms with point deductions, stadium changes and relegations being thrown at Hamilton. The players were also set to go on strike during their game yesterday with East Fife but was postponed due to a frozen pitch. Exciting times ahead for the Hamilton support as they look to rise once again.
‘When Has It Ever Been This Bad?’ – Luke McCowan Despairs Over Celtic’s Horror Form
Celtic midfielder Luke McCowan insists things have never been as bad at Celtic as they are just now, as the defending champions were defeated 3-1 at Celtic Park to bitter rivals Rangers. It is the sixth defeat in only eight games under Wilfried Nancy, who replaced popular interim manager Martin O’Neill at the beginning of December, who won seven of his eight games in temporary charge. And McCowan feels that this is the worst state of affairs at Parkhead in living memory. He said: “Let’s call a spade a spade, when has it ever been this bad? It’s never. “You’re asking fans to react to something for the first time they’re seeing it, and us as players for the first time we’re feeling it. “It’s not nice. I’ll tell you that as a player’s perspective. It doesn’t leave you. It haunts you every minute of every day when you’re not winning. “Getting home, not speaking to anybody, sitting on the couch, not moving, just doing that black screen instead of having the darts or having the football highlights on. “But, as I said, that is what it comes with playing with Celtic. You need to take that pressure on. You need to get there. You need to show personality and at times within games, we’ve not done that good enough.” Manager Wilfried Nancy has faced huge backlash from the Celtic support after his catastrophic start to life, yet former Dundee man McCowan and the squad remain behind the Frenchman. “We have to be [behind him]. He’s the manager. I don’t know what else to say on it, but he is the manager, so what do we do? “We just need to be together collectively, get better together, and know what we did wrong in the second half and go from there.” It was a capitulation of a second half from the Hoops as Rangers equalled their points tally despite being nine behind the reigning champions when Nancy took over. A dominant first half from Celtic seen them one ahead at the break, thanks to a solo goal from winger Hyun-jun Yang. However, a double from Youssef Chermiti and a Mikey Moore effort somehow getting beyond Kasper Schmeichel awarded Rangers their second victory at Celtic Park in as many visits. It is the first time Celtic have been leading a match at home at half-time and went on to lose in 152 matches, which incidentally was also a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in October 2010. A crowd of protestors gathered outside the main entrance of Celtic Park after the match, with fans anger directed mainly towards the club’s hierarchy, as well some towards their new manager, who became the quickest Celtic manager in history to lose four league games. Celtic return to action this Saturday at home to Dundee United who beat them 2-1 less than three weeks ago, with no official announcement on the 48-year-old’s future from the club so far as they now sit six points behind leaders Hearts.
Aberdeen showing interest in young Dundee defender following impressive season so far
Aberdeen are believed to be keen on Dundee centre-back, Luke Graham as Jimmy Thelin insists, he’s keen to reinforce their backline. The 21-year-old began his career in Perth playing for the St Johnstone academy before making a short move to the Dundee youth academy in his early days. In 2021, he was given loan spell at SJFA Midlands League side, Lochee United in the sixth tier of Scottish Football to gain some valuable minutes as his age 16. The 2004 born defender made a loan move to Albion Rovers the following season being a critical player for Albion Rovers. After the impressive loan spell, Graham went on loan to League One outfit, Montrose making 27 appearances at Links Park. Graham was then sent out on loan to Falkirk in League One helping the Bairns to promotion to the Championship where he re-joins John McGlynn’s side on loan before being re-called midway through his spell in the Championship which Falkirk did make it back to the top-flight. So far this season, the Dundee youth prospect has made 23 appearances for the Dees picking up two goals along the way. Luke has also made five appearances for the Scotland U21s where he also grabbed his first International goal. Luke Graham has played the full 90 in all his last 13 outings and has helped Dundee pick up three consecutive wins for the first time in 11 years. With his impressive form at Dens so far this campaign, a move up North to Aberdeen could be on the cards with Jimmy Thelin interested in the young Scottish defender.
Jimmy Thelin feels his squad must “drop egos” following their 1-0 defeat at Falkirk yesterday.
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin feels the squad have an issue with their egos which must drop quickly. Aberdeen were defeated 1-0 away to Falkirk yesterday in which was a very flat performance by Aberdeen where the Dons boss has slammed some players for their ‘egos’. Dons boss Jimmy Thelin said: “I won’t talk much about the game, but more about ourselves. The desire, there’s too many individual decisions. “Football is more than technique and systems. It’s how you act on the football pitch. It’s about responsibility. We’ve been here before, we’ve bounced back, but now we’re back some steps again. “Even if you don’t have the perfect game, it should always feel like we give the fans everything, and right now we aren’t doing that. That’s not good enough. “I’m the manager, I’m responsible, but sometimes the players have to look in the mirror and know what football is about. “We had some good crosses today but we weren’t close to using these opportunities. We have to drop our egos and play much better as a team. “The second half, we start okay but in these small situations, the opponents win. We get beat, and down in these moments. We have to change this mentality.” This comes after Aberdeen were defeated 1-0 by the Bairns as pressure continues to ramp on Jimmy Thelin. Aberdeen are currently winless in their last five as the Dons slump down to eighth in the Scottish Premiership. In the Falkirk defeat, the Dons boss went for the back four for the first time this season after using a back three for the majority of the season so far. Aberdeen didn’t manage to pull off a single shot on target during their tight defeat at Falkirk. Jimmy added: He said: “We changed system and it didn’t work so well in the first half, although it was a little bit better in the second. “However, there were moments in the Hibs game (2-0 loss) and this one where there is too much ego. “When the ref doesn’t give us a free-kick we stop playing but we have to fight, fight, fight much more in the games to be more competitive. “We have talked about this before and we went on to be better. “But now we have dropped back again. “We have to change this otherwise it is so, so difficult to win football games.” The Aberdeen boss now has a win rate percentage of just 42% which is now the same as Barry Robson who was eventually sacked and most recently sacked by Scottish Championship side, Raith Rovers. Aberdeen have a very tough week ahead as they travel to Ibrox to face Rangers on Tuesday before the host Rangers again on Sunday at Pittodrie.
