What Jimmy Thelin said to his Aberdeen players at half-time as detractors told 'I don't care' after Celtic comeback

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin revealed that his message to his players at half-time was to “stay together” after they stormed back from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw away at Celtic.

The champions appeared to be cruising to victory at the interval thanks to goals from Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi, but Aberdeen were level by the 60-minute mark via strikes from Ester Sokler and Graeme Shinnie.

Duk then had a goal chalked off for handball ten minutes later before Celtic poured forward in search of a winner, coming close on a number of occasions in 13 minutes in stoppage time. However, Thelin’s men held firm and while their 13-game winning run came to an end, they remain locked at the top of the Premiership table on 22 points after eight matches.

Thelin made a double substitution at the interval, bringing on Sokler and Duk to reinvigorate his attack, while he also explained what he said to re-energise his players within the away dressing-room.

Jimmy Thelin's Aberdeen side forced a draw away at Celtic. | SNS Group

"Stay together,” Thelin said of his over-riding half-time message. “There wasn't too much emotions. We need to calm down a little bit and focus on our identity, what we want to achieve here. And it's still early in the season so we have still a lot of things to improve and sometimes when you get under real pressure then we have to refocus and try to find a way to start over the game in our mind. We know it's 2-0 but we have to find a way because we can't keep doing the same as we did in the first half.

"It was more a good talk with the players and then we go out with a strong feeling that we can. We have to do it step by step now and of course sometimes you can't plan like that, but today was a good day."

Assessing his team’s general performance and the match itself, Thelin continued: "It was an emotional game for sure. Of course, we knew beforehand that Celtic is a really strong team and they're going to push us and stretch us for 90 minutes and we need to have this team spirit today to get a good result from here.

"Of course it was a bit disappointing in the half-time in the dressing room, but we had a good talk with the players and the staff about how we can find our way back into the game. I like the team spirit the players have, how they help each other. It's not easy to come here and have 2-0 against you and go out in the second half when Celtic has the qualities. But the spirit the players showed today and these two goals they score, we score and also try to find another one in transitions at that place.

"Then of course sometimes you need to have some luck. also in the last three, four, five minutes there were some crazy moments on the pitch but also how the players sacrificed themselves, they tried everything they had. They were tired but they keep believing, they're helping each other. That's also something you need sometimes a little bit of luck but also the extra effort to get the points in these difficult away games. I'm proud of the players today and the fans who are here who support us all the way."

Aberdeen celebrate their draw at Parkhead. | SNS Group

On his decision to replace Kevin Nisbet and Leighton Clarkson with Sokler and Duk and play Jamie McGrath more centrally, Thelin explained: "The players have different qualities and sometimes it's also my responsibility how we attack the game and we didn't find a way in the first half. It's nothing about the players, it's more about strategy and sometimes we need some more pace.

"Celtic were good and they find ways, we couldn't really manage some areas but we saw opportunities in transitions and that's why we make these changes."

There had been some scepticism of Aberdeen’s winning run before this match given they had yet to play either side of the Old Firm, but Thelin reiterated that he cares little for the outside noise surrounding his team.

"I told the press before this game, I don't care about that because I know every game in this league is a really competitive team, it's a lot of good teams,” the Swede added. “The games we play we have some late winners, we fight a lot so we need to stay humble and now we have to focus on Dundee United at home, that's the only way we work, game by game, so I don't care what other people think about us.

"It's one game and we have to focus on game by game. And let's see, when we talk in May, let's see where we are."