In isolation, such run of results (coupled with an easy League Cup victory against Greenock Morton) would not be enough to cast doubt on a manager’s viability so early in the new season, especially considering the absence of caveats to those defeats.

Aberdeen kicked off the league season away to Hearts and later hosted Celtic.

That is now the most challenging opening pair of fixtures they could have had, with the aforementioned combination sitting first and second in the table with 10 points each after four games.

Furthermore, Thelin and his team have been hampered by two questionable red cards.

While the majority appear to agree with VAR’s decision to intervene and turn Nicky Devlin’s yellow card tackle against Falkirk into a red (though this writer is not convinced), there is no doubt that the second yellow and penalty given to Alexander Jensen in the FCSB away leg, with the tie still tied at 2-2 on aggregate, was an absolute disgrace. The strain stems from last season’s hangover.

Though Thelin was able to secure a ‘credit in the bank’ windfall by bringing the Scottish Cup back to Scotland’s North East for the first time in 35 years, his team’s league performance over a sustained period is concerning, to say the least.

Since their unblemished start to the 2024/25 Premiership season ended with a 2-1 loss at St Mirren, they’ve played 30 league games and earned only 22 points. There are no two ways about it: that is relegation form.

But, having opted to take the risk with the Swede again this season, they’ve done the right thing by going all out to enhance the squad over the summer.

They’d already signed ten players (with nine new additions) before making a couple of big splashes on the final day of the transfer window:

re-signing Kevin Nisbet on a permanent deal (for a bargain £300,000, reportedly) and adding Bologna winger and Sweden international Jesper Karlsson in a ‘eye-catching’ move.

Then, out of nowhere, like a wrestling great returning to the WWE after years of working in Hollywood, they announced a stunning deal that brought Stuart Armstrong back to Scottish football.

Fans, who were morose and alienated just a few days ago, are naturally excited to see what this club can do.

As Brian Clough famously remarked, the answer to being a good manager is to select good players, and Thelin now has a roster full of them.

He also, thankfully, no longer needs to rely on Kusini Yengi to lead the offensive. It’s safe to say that if Aberdeen had a quality striker for their first three league games, they would have picked up at least a few points.

(This is perhaps unjust to Yengi, who had not scored in club football in over a year before to his arrival at Aberdeen and is clearly experiencing a confidence issue, but you cannot deny that he has performed below expectations thus far.) But there is one tendency throughout his Aberdeen career that Thelin must reverse if the rest of the season is to be as successful as it should be.

When the manager first arrived in Scotland, he instantly improved a few players.

Nicky Devlin went from ordinary in his first season to a Scottish international; Shayden Morris got the club’s player of the year despite appearing to lack skill to go with his searing pace; and Pape Gueye went from a punchline to an essential member of the attacking arsenal.

You could say something similar about Slobodan Rubezic, Graeme Shinnie, Vincente Besuijen, Leighton Clarkson, and so on.

However, with the exception of Morris, they all regressed to the mean when things went wrong. They were not helped by new signings who did the same thing.

There have been a few players that signed for Aberdeen during Thelin’s tenure and arrived looking like world beaters, only to see their form deteriorate the more they played for this squad.

Alexander Jensen looked like a great addition in January, but he has deteriorated significantly.

Topi Keskinen demonstrated a lot of early potential and explosiveness in attack, but little of it has been seen subsequently.

Ante Palaversa has delivered some impressive performances, but he has battled to maintain consistency. Mats Knoester initially appeared to be a defensive stalwart, but he has had some poor performances of late.

Centre-half Gavin Molloy was a hidden gem this season, playing primarily as a makeshift left defender.

And Sivert Helte Nilsen went from being one of the top additions in the first several months of the 2024/25 season to having fewer than ten unquestionably strong games since last November.

Nisbet himself credited the head coach for helping him progress during last season, so Thelin’s record isn’t exactly anti-Midas, but it’s not encouraging in general.

Is it the system? Is this man-management? Is it the players themselves? It does not matter. It is the manager’s responsibility to get the most out of the squad and make it greater than the sum of its parts.

However, there is evidence throughout the squad that he has not been able to do so during the course of his career. Players have demonstrated their ability to shine, yet they do not sparkle nearly enough.

A major source of concern is that much of the work done earlier in the summer was around buying younger players with the goal of developing them into first-team stars, presumably with Thelin in mind, so the club can generate a nice profit later on.

It’s crunch time for Thelin. Results must turn rapidly. You can’t deny that these are his players. Since his appointment as manager, there have been 24 new arrivals.

The roster is definitely good enough to compete with Hearts and Hibs, with the goal of finishing third or even splitting the Old Firm if this Rangers team continues to pratfall around.

The cup success has bought him some time, and he will be forgiven for the demands of playing six games in Europe between now and the end of the year.

But he needs to start winning Scottish Premiership games consistently; otherwise, he could be out by Christmas.

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