Jimmy Thelin praised Pape Guèye for his performance against Kilmarnock and how competition in the squad will help grow everyone in it.
Following a comfortable victory for Aberdeen at Pittodrie - where the striker scored a brace - manager Jimmy Thelin was pleased with his team’s overall performance and commended the togetherness they showed out on the pitch.
He said: “I'm happy with the performance, I think it was stable, had a good first half, we attacked in different ways. But also played close to each other, helped each other when they attacked and tried to win the second balls and deny them transitions.
"Of course, the game always goes from momentum to momentum, they also had a period when they were really good. It's never easy but I like the team spirit, how they compete together, how they fight for each other.”
Despite the headlines being about new number nine Kevin Nisbet signing the day prior, they were rewritten by Senegalese striker Pape Guèye who scored both Dons’ goals.
Thelin praised the forward, saying: “Yeah, he's good in both directions. Also how he defends on set plays is really good in the air. Also picking up second ball, but today it was how he scored, of course. He's got good timing and even if you're big sometimes, you have to be there, you have to read the game, you have to be in the right position inside the box and he's really clever there.”
When asked about what the new competition would bring to the squad, Thelin welcomed it saying: “We have a healthy competition, keep a good dressing room but also have competition in training sessions so everybody can grow all the time. Even if they challenge each other for the starting eleven or the squad, they still push it out on the game. So, I think it's good that we have these different solutions inside the squad now.”
The win takes Aberdeen to eight out of eight domestically and with a trip to Dingwall to face Ross County before the international break, when asked about the potential of a 100 percent record, Thelin understands the challenge but doesn’t want to make it the importance of getting a result.
“It would be really good, but it's really difficult. You can't look behind you, you have to look in front. Now we have to prepare, and we'll be really, really prepared for this game. It's away game. We're going to try to prepare us in the week and then give 100 per cent effort. Let's hope we can win, but it's not easy.”
The Dons will travel to Ross County on August 31 during the final fixtures before the first international break of the season.
