Jimmy Thelin: Aberdeen must learn and move on after Celtic thrashing

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has stressed they must learn lessons from their Hampden humbling but also move on quickly.

Thelin suffered his first defeat as Dons boss in painful fashion following 15 wins and a draw when his side lost 6-0 against Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals.

But they have the perfect opportunity to bounce back when they host Dundee on Saturday, with the prospect of going top of the William Hill Premiership overnight.

When asked how they had got last weekend out of their system, Thelin said: “For me it’s not always easy, but that’s a skill you have to work on as a player, staff, coach or manager.

“Of course you have to take learning points and analyse the game, but you have to move on. It’s a new game around the corner and you have to put the focus on the right things.

“That’s the only way to be better, how you improve from these games.

“Now it’s back to the league and another three points to compete for. You have to move on. That is one of the most important things. Even if you win, you have to move on. If you lose you have to move on, but always learn from both games.

“From the game at Hampden we have learnt some bigger things and some smaller things. We’re going to keep some things for ourselves here, but of course in some ways how we defended well in some parts but some parts we failed.

“Also in our build-up when we attack so these small things we have to adjust and that’s what we have focused on this week.”

Thelin could potentially look at Aberdeen’s conquerors for inspiration in bouncing back from a heavy defeat. Celtic followed up their 7-1 thrashing by Borussia Dortmund by collecting four points from their next two Champions League games as well as continuing their unbeaten domestic record.

As Brendan Rodgers stated after the game in Dortmund, Thelin appreciates games can quickly spiral out of control but believes there will be no lasting effect.

“There is also some mental aspects we’re working on,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to have an impact on the game on Saturday.

“For us it’s more about the long term and we know there are still things for us to learn.

“We need to improve on parts and for us it’s not going to change any preparation for this game, it’s still the same. We prepare the players, they have been in good spirits in the sessions this week, a lot of energy and everybody is looking forward to the game.”