Aberdeen are red hot but Glasgow-shaped hurricane is coming - it's Rangers most Dons fans are gunning for

Jimmy Thelin knows the script. No matter the venue, no matter the opponent, no matter the manner of the victory, the suave Swede’s message is the same. “We have to keep our feet on the ground and stay humble and work week by week and then every training session."

Those were Thelin’s words on Sunday evening in the wake of vanquishing Hearts 3-2 at a packed Pittodrie. The 46-year-old has won all 13 of his competitive games since swapping Elfsborg for Aberdeen in the summer. Seven league triumphs, six in the Premier Sports Cup. It’s the best start of any manager in Scottish football history. This is quite the accomplishment.

Nearly 18,000 Aberdeen supporters turned up to watch this latest victory. The Dons were not at their best. Thelin admitted that, as did the players in their post-match media duties. Hearts ought to have gone back down the A90 with at least a point. But winning becomes a habit. This Aberdeen team is addicted to it.

The Aberdeen players celebrate another win, this time over Hearts. | SNS Group

Thelin was asked if 13 wins surpassed his pre-season expectations. "Yeah, of course, you don't expect that when you arrive to a new club,” he smiled. “But we have to enjoy it, but still we have the same focus on game by game and that's the only way we're going to work. We're all in the same boat, we want it to be good for Aberdeen Football Club. We belong to the same team and the staff and the players are really well connected and we try to get better every week.”

Thelin could not have handpicked a better seven league games. He has faced St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Hearts at home just days after they have been involved in a gruelling European tie. Neither Celtic or Rangers appeared on the early fixture list, nor in-form Dundee United. Bar Hibs, they have faced every team currently sitting in the bottom half of the league. On the flipside, though, Aberdeen have been resolute in winning at Dundee - the last team to beat them - and holding off a spirited Motherwell fightback, who themselves are in rich vein of form

Nevertheless, the quirks of the SPFL fixture computer should not take the shine off what Aberdeen are doing right now. Thelin inherited a mess, an under-performing squad and a club in the doldrums. He has recruited wisely. Sivert Heltne Nilsen is one of those hard-men midfielders every successful Scottish team has, while winger Topi Keskinen is jet-heeled and talented. Gavin Molloy has improved the defence, this weekend’s matchwinner Ante Palaversa adds stardust into the forward line and on-loan Millwall striker Kevin Nisbet is a clinical finisher. The arrival of Dimitar Mitov in goal means Kelle Roos has long since been forgotten about.

New signing Sivert Heltne Nilsen gives a big thumbs-up to the Pittodrie faithful. | SNS Group

Perhaps what Thelin has done with the players already at Pittodrie is more significant. Pape Gueye is now sadly injured for months, but Aberdeen’s top goalscorer has gone from a comedy figure to a monstrous forward. Right-back Nicky Devlin is in the Scotland squad for the first time, winger Shayden Morris is rejuvenated and the previously AWOL Duk has been nursed back into the first-team picture. Thelin’s man-management and people skills are top-drawer.

He has got a tough job keeping the Red Army’s feet on the ground. “We’re going to win the league,” was the song of choice after beating Hearts. After the international break, Aberdeen head to Glasgow to face the champions at Parkhead. Bluntly, they will need to play a damn sight better.

Under Thelin, Aberdeen attack quickly and aggressively. Their front four pours forward, with wingers tucking in to allow full-backs to join the play. Their combination play in the final third is excellent. This team will score goals at will. Nilsen and Graeme Shinnie are able to mix it defensively from midfield, but the Hearts game showed that you can get at their defence. The energetic high press and tempo the Dons play at can leave them susceptible. Both Lawrence Shankland and Kenneth Vargas missed gilt-edged chances on Sunday.

Thelin has just under two weeks to work out his best system against Celtic. Ross County proved at the weekend that if you get a low block in place and manage to keep the door shut, you can get into a game with the champions. Being open and aggressive will leave space, something that Celtic are devastatingly good at capitalising on. Playing them after an international break is far from the worst time to meet them, as Brendan Rodgers has had less time on the training ground. Even still, the task awaiting Aberdeen there is huge.

Jimmy Thelin has won all 13 matches so far at Aberdeen. | SNS Group

Recent trips to the east end of Glasgow do not make for pretty reading. Barry Robson’s side lost 6-0 last term. There’s a 5-0 and 4-0 from 2023 too. You have to go back six years for an Andy Considine-inspired 1-0 victory at Celtic Park. Captain Shinnie is the only survivor of that day in 2018. More hope will come from the recent 3-3 draw and dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat at Hampden in April’s Scottish Cup semi-final, where the Dons acquitted themselves really well.

It is Rangers that most Aberdeen fans have in their sights. Those two meet on Wednesday, October 30 on what is sure to be a powderkeg occasion at Pittodrie. Aberdeen currently have a five-point advantage over Philippe Clement’s side. If they can go into November with their noses in front of the Ibrox side, that would be some achievement. Their fixture list for the rest of the month is demanding: Celtic away, Dundee United and Rangers at home.

Then comes the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden on November 2. We will learn so much more about Thelin’s Aberdeen in the coming weeks. But already 16 points clear of Hibs and a whopping 19 ahead of Hearts, both their expected rivals for third place, the foundations for a hugely successful season have been put down. A Glasgow-shaped hurricane is coming, though. Can Aberdeen and their Red Army stand up to that?