Roos: Dons manager announcement won’t affect semi-final preparations

Kelle Roos does not believe the impending arrival of Jimmy Thelin as manager should have a bearing on the mindset of Aberdeen’s players as they bid to reach the final of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.

The Dons announced on Tuesday the Swede will be leaving Elfsborg to take charge at Pittodrie in June, ending a period of uncertainty in which they have been operating under two different caretakers in Neil Warnock and Peter Leven since the sacking of Barry Robson in January.

While goalkeeper Roos welcomed the “clarity” the appointment brings for everyone at the club, he feels it would be wrong to assume that knowledge of the new boss’ identity will serve as any kind of motivational factor for the players going into their semi-final showdown with holders Celtic.

“As a player, talking about myself, for me nothing changes,” said Roos. “Some people might say players are going to put more effort in because they know there’s a new manager and he might be watching. Hopefully not.

“If that’s what drives you as a player, you’re doing something drastically wrong, so that’s definitely not the case for me. I’ll be doing all the same things I’ve been doing, and then we’ll go from there.”

Aberdeen are preparing to see out the cinch Premiership in the bottom six after a poor league campaign to date, but Roos believes it would give everyone at the club “a massive lift” if they have a Scottish Cup final to look forward to at the end of it.

Despite the fact the two sides are separated by 43 points in the league, the goalkeeper is adamant the Reds can pull off a victory if they apply themselves correctly at Hampden.

“Celtic are a very good side, they’ve caused us a lot of troubles in the past but at the same time we showed at home (in a 1-1 draw in February) we can give them a difficult game, and that’s what we need to focus on,” he said.

“If we play to the best of our ability, we can cause them problems. We need to show a lot of courage. If we sit off Celtic the whole game they will hurt us so we need to try and be aggressive because I think that’s when we play to our strengths.

“Some people might say ‘oh what a great day out it is to go to Hampden’ but I don’t really look at it that way. I think these days are great if you win and they’re not so great if you don’t win. That’s how simple it is. We’re going there to win a game of football, and that’s it.”

The vocal Roos is braced for a busy afternoon’s work regardless of how many shots Celtic get on target.

“I need to be ready for whatever they throw at me, just like any other game,” he said. “If it’s a little bit more quiet, then obviously my voice plays a bigger role but if I’m busier, then obviously it will be about my saves.

“However, you twist or turn it, I will be busy whether it’s with my voice or my saves.”