Aberdeen

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Aberdeen's Jimmy Thelin has been nominated for the Scottish Football Writers' Association manager of the year award.

The Dons boss is vying with Celtic's Brendan Rodgers, Hibernian head coach David Gray and Falkirk manager John McGlynn for the SFWA prize.

After arriving last summer from Elfsborg, Aberdeen enjoyed a record-breaking 16-game unbeaten start to the campaign under the Swede.

But the Pittodrie side's season took a dramatic dip when they remarkably went on to endure a winless run of 14 league games throughout the winter.

However, Thelin's men have recovered to book a place in the final of the Scottish Cup against Celtic while remaining in the hunt for third spot in the Premiership.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Aberdeen turned in a toothless performance in Paisley at the worst possible time in what was a hammer blow to their hopes of finishing in the Premiership's top three.

Zero shots on target tells the story as the Dons once again toiled against St Mirren in what has become something of a bogey fixture for them in recent years, particularly in Renfrewshire.

Worryingly for Jimmy Thelin, his team has averaged a paltry 3.74 shots on target per game in the Premiership with only Motherwell and relegation-haunted Ross County and St Johnstone worse off.

The same old problems reared their head against Saints as the Swede's side struggled against a well-organised machine in Stephen Robinson's team who have had the Dons' number in the past three meetings.

A sloppy goal was also lost from a set-play while the lack of a tangible Plan B was exposed not for the first time this season.

To have no attempts on target in what was essentially a must-win game disappointed the big travelling support.

Jeppe Okkels did have the ball in the net but in this day of VAR, that type of handball by Kevin Nisbet is seldom overlooked. His arm was deemed to be in an unnatural position, however there was still plenty of the game to go.

Coupled with Hibernian swatting Dundee United aside as the Dons toiled at the other end of the M8, they will now need an effective two-result swing in the final three games given the Edinburgh club's big goal difference advantage.

It may be Aberdeen need to win all three of their remaining fixtures to stand a chance which would mean beating both Glasgow sides and winning at Tannadice on the final day.

Of course, the Dons could take the guaranteed European league phase prize by winning the Scottish Cup. But if they can't cause a shock in the final against holders Celtic, they will have to try to hold on to fourth place at worst as that would give them two bites at progressing through the European qualifiers with a place in the second qualifying round of the Europa League.

Their main season aim in the league is now in the long shot category, albeit Hibs go to Celtic Park at the weekend before the Dons travel to Ibrox to take on a beleaguered Rangers.

But, even taking into account the Ibrox side's ills this campaign, they will have to be a whole lot better than Saturday's timid showing if they are to win that one.

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

Boy am I glad we don't need to play St Mirren again this season.

What a difference a week makes in football. From being right back in the race for third to a performance our mid-season slump would be proud of.

Defeat in Paisley put a big dent in our hopes of a third-place finish and with the way our fixtures play out it does feel now the priority is to ensure we don't slip any further than fourth.

The club's player of the year ceremony was held on Thursday night, but what we saw from those in red on Saturday wont be winning any awards.

Playing Topi Keskinen in the number 10 role as opposed to left wing where he has flourished recently was baffling given the recent inclusions of Jamie McGrath and Dante Polvara, while Alexander Jensen's pace and energy were missed on the right-hand side of defence.

Jimmy Thelin and Dave Cormack spoke about a team who would give maximum effort and show the desire to play for Aberdeen, yet it feels like there is a degree of effort missing.

Now that may be harsh, but is late-season fatigue coming into it? We haven't had a heavy fixture schedule and with the cup final looming, fitness and fatigue concerns are a worry if true, especially given the club's hopes for next season and playing European football.

Another worry is our inability to break stuffy teams down. As well as player recruitment, a Plan B when teams sit deep is something I hope to see improved next season.

We have four huge games left this season - a trip to Ibrox beckons on Sunday - and it is time for the players to put in a complete performance.

Jimmy Thelin needs to stop tinkering players out of their best positions and get back to giving fans confidence and momentum going into the cup final.

Glen Schreuder can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external

Celtic are considering bringing goalkeeper Ross Doohan back to the club when his Aberdeen contract expires in the summer to help meet Champions League regulations on home grown talent. (Glasgow Times), external

Montenegro central defender Slobodan Rubezic has confirmed he will be returning to Aberdeen following his loan to former club Novi Pazar. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Tuesday's Scottish Gossip

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Aberdeen have sold out their Scottish Cup final allocation of more than 20,000 in a matter of hours.

Tickets for the showpiece encounter with Celtic later this month went on sale from 08:00 BST on Monday morning and the Pittodrie club confirmed each of them had been snapped up by 17:30 on the same day.

The Dons had agreed to underwrite the cost of any unsold tickets, but that will not be required now after rapid sales.

"Never in doubt," the club posted on X, external (formerly Twitter) with confirmation that all tickets had been sold.

Watch the Sportscene panel analyse the performance of both St Mirren and Aberdeen in the Buddies' 1-0 victory in Paisley.

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Watch highlights of St Mirren's 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.

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We asked for your views on Aberdeen's defeat to St Mirren on Saturday.

Here's what some of you said:

Pete: Seemed like typical end of season fare. We were didn't seem as hungry as the Saints and the disallowed goal really seemed to hamper our confidence. Considering the ups and downs of this campaign we should be fairly happy to be in the position we are. As long as we give our best in the last few games, and of course the cup final, I look forward to next season with renewed optimism, and a few new faces to strengthen the squad of course!

James: I cannot understand when we know that St Mirren are a physical team why the manager drops Pape Gueye, our most physical player. The players let the fans down, we never put the opponents under pressure. A very poor display when Europe was within reach.

Andrew: Season 24/25 has had more up and downs than normal but one thing that was for sure was a positive result in Paisley was never going to happen after VAR chopped off the goal for hand ball. After the VAR decision we never got a grip of the midfield battle. The players, after a good spell of form, had an off day. It happens, but whether it will cost us third place remains to be seen. In a season of so many twists and turns, a predictable outcome for third was never on the cards.

David: Drove 380 mile round trip from Peterhead with my grandson to watch them huff and puff. The build up is far too slow allowing teams to set themselves for when the ball is finally pumped up the field. Crossing is diabolical, either hits first man or over hit. No plan B I'm afraid. Playing Topi [Keskinen] as no.10 must've been Jimmy Thelin's plan to outfox St Mirren. Fair play to St Mirren they play to their strengths.

Carol: Year one of a three-year project. Some good players taken in this season, they will be better next season. Cup final, cup semi final and probably fourth in league is not a bad start to JTs term. We weren't at it yesterday, but still had two big refereeing decisions go against us. Not good enough on the day, but the future looks good.

Rob: It is a set back for third spot but not a fatal one. The old firm fixtures are huge now and we need to get points in both. Despite the lack of chances we created we need to find a way not to lose these games. St Mirren are a decent side but we should not have lost three times to them this season if we harbour hopes of top three.

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• St. Mirren are undefeated in their last three games in the Premiership, their last joint longest unbeaten streak was from 14 December to 26 December 2024.

• Mikael Mandron attempted five shots in this game, the joint-highest total for a St. Mirren player in the Premiership this season.

• Aberdeen have a record of W0, D2, L8 when conceding the opening goal away from home in the Premiership this season.

• The Dons failed to attempt a shot on target in this game. It's the first time they failed to attempt a shot on target in a game in the Premiership since facing Livingston on 5 August 2023.

Dons fans, did you make the trip to Paisley on Saturday or were you following the action from home? Either way we want your views on the performance. How are you feeling about that third-place spot?

Let us know your thoughts

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "We wanted more.

"The game was what we expected, we were not good enough to deserve to win but maybe we were not bad enough to lose. It was a classic 0-0 game but they used the opportunity from the set play to score that goal.

"The final pass today didn't arrive in the right spaces, that's football sometimes. Today was not the perfect game but also St Mirren did things well. Our performance was not what we had to do to deserve to win. We need to improve some parts in the away games and do better because we now have three more important games in the league. We have to do better in these games to deserve to win.

"We have to believe and try and do some things better in our away games."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen had taken on the fight for third with a bit of momentum building ahead of this fixture.

Unbeaten since the end of February until this defeat showed a level of consistency but this outcome is a real blow.

They've lost crucial ground on Hibs and face a trip to Ibrox next before hosting Celtic. Anything from those games in normal circumstances would be deemed a positive but may well be required now with games running out.

The disallowed effort for handball against Kevin Nisbet will be a major talking point. It was given for his arm being in an unnatural position. However, was he nudged causing that?

There's little room for error now, although Hibernian face a testing trip to Celtic Park next weekend as they look to cement their position.

Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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Aberdeen winger Shayden Morris has described being named as Aberdeen's Player of the Season as "the biggest achievement" of his career so far and has vowed that the best is yet to come from him.

Morris, 23, received the accolade, voted for by the Dons' fans, at the club awards night on Thursday.

"It is a massive moment for me and my family," he said.

"'For it to be voted by the fans is a massive feeling, because I know it hasn't always been easy times, so to be in this position, to be voted Player of the Season, I am really happy.

"I do feel like I have had to be patient this season at times and I have always trusted in myself in what the coaches say to me.

"I have just wanted to work hard, give everything I can every time I do step on the pitch and for it to be rewarded like that is such a massive achievement."

Morris has been a key player for the Dons who are currently fourth in the Premiership and who also have a Scottish Cup final against Celtic to look forward to.

And he believes he has gone some way to showing he can make his mark from the start of games, rather than as a super sub coming off the bench.

"I definitely do think I have shown I can do it from the start as well," Morris added.

"For me this season, I have had a lot of people watching closely, game by game 'is he going to do it?' but as a footballer you can't do it every single game and that is one thing I have had to realise, even for me, I get a bit down when I don't have an exciting game because that is the type of player I am.

"But I think as a starter or coming on as a sub, players do go through games where they are not always at their 100% best and I feel like it is all about belief and if you can play one, two, three games, I am sure by the fourth one you can get that performance.

"It is all about belief, and I know I can do it if I am given a run."

Jimmy Thelin will make decisions about Aberdeen players' futures in the week running up to the Scottish Cup final with Celtic. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external

Aberdeen's player of the year Shayden Morris, 23, has bigger prizes in mind with the Dons in contention to finish third in the Premiership and into the Scottish Cup final. (Record), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

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St Mirren's Evan Mooney has returned to training following an ankle injury and could be back before the end of the season.

Aberdeen defender Gavin Molloy is back in contention but Ester Sokler (leg), Kristers Tobers (hamstring), Sivert Heltne Nilsen (eye) and Vicente Besuijen (knee) are set to remain sidelined.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin believes Sivert Heltne Nilsen still has a big part to play for the remainder of the campaign, despite confirming the midfielder will miss the rest of the season with an eye injury.

The Norwegian hasn't played since the start of March after picking up the injury in training.

Thelin revealed the midfielder "wants to train, but he can't right now" and hopes the 33-year-old will be ready in time for a return to action during pre-season

"That is the way of football sometimes, and in life in general," Thelin said. "You get setbacks, you get some problems you need to solve.

"He is a good character and he has always high standards, he's a good person, he cares about others, so he is contributing to a lot of things anyway - but of course he wants to play.

"Sometimes when you get injuries you can grow in other areas - as a player, as a human, as a leader. We always try to think about the positive things you take, using this time in the best way."

Aberdeen have only lost one of their last 12 games in all competitions and are currently fourth in the Premiership, below third-place Hibernian on goal difference.

They are looking to continue that good form at sixth-placed St Mirren tomorrow, who still have an outside chance of securing a European spot. Their manager, Stephen Robinson, has vowed to take the game to the Dons.

"They are in the top six and they have deserved it," Thelin continued. "They are a good team, we know that. They are quite good at pressing in general so we have focussed on some solutions, but we are also a good team with the ball and we have some ideas how we can attack them.

"We have to be sharp in the things we are going to do and believe in our things, and hopefully that can give us the best performance and the result."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media ahead of Saturday's Premiership trip to St Mirren.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Thelin confirmed midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen will miss the rest of the season with an eye injury, adding he is hopeful the midfielder can be back for pre-season, saying "everything is going as well as it could be".

• He also adds that defender Kristers Tobers is back to full training, but this weekend's game in Paisley will come too soon for him to return.

• The Dons boss is expecting a difficult game against a St Mirren team "that are really clear in what they do and they do it really well"

• However, Thelin says they have "to believe in our things", saying that in training, the players "are front-footed and really pushing each other" to be ready for all the challenging games between now and the end of the season.

• Despite the potential implications for the Dons elsewhere this weekend, with two of their European rivals, Hibs and Dundee Utd going head to head at Easter Road, Thelin emphasises that they are simply focused on themselves.

• On winger Shayden Morris being named Player of the Year at the club awards last night, Thelin said he is "really happy for him", and highlighted how hard he has worked and his "desire to want to learn"

• On the future of the players whose deals are up in the summer, he said there will be clarity at the end of the season and for now, the focus is on the remaining games of the campaign.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says the Pittodrie club have to get better at recruiting Scottish players after Dundee midfielder Lyall Cameron chose to join Rangers instead this summer. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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• St Mirren have won their past two league games against Aberdeen, last winning three in a row in July 2011.

• Aberdeen are winless in nine league visits to St Mirren (D3 L6) since a 2-1 triumph in December 2018 under Derek McInnes.

• St Mirren have picked up as many points in their past three home league games (seven – W2 D1) as in their previous eight beforehand (W2 D1 L5).

• Aberdeen have won three of their past four league games (D1), more than their previous 19 beforehand (W2 D6 L11).

• Aberdeen's Kevin Nisbet has scored 10+ goals in three of his last four seasons in the Scottish Premiership (14 in 2020-21, 12 in 2022-23, 10 this season). He is one of only four players to score 10+ goals in as many as three Scottish Premiership campaigns since 2020-21, along with Alfredo Morelos (three), James Tavernier (three), and Kyogo Furuhashi (four).

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

As noted here last week, victory over Hibernian really was a must for Aberdeen and thanks to Kevin Nisbet's moment of artistry at Pittodrie on Saturday, it is game on in the battle for third place.

Hibs had been going like a train and topped the 2025-only Premiership table, so this was an impressive victory that leaves the Edinburgh side ahead on goal difference.

Dundee United's heavy home loss against Celtic didn't do the Dons' hopes of finishing best of the rest any harm either as they size up St Mirren on Saturday.

Nisbet's goal was fit to win any match, and it had been a game that looked like petering out in a stalemate, which would have suited David Gray's men more than the hosts.

It leaves Jimmy Thelin's men in fine form with just one defeat in their past 12 and completed an excellent week's work coming seven days after their Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Hearts.

A trip to Paisley, however, isn't top of Aberdeen's wishlist. They haven't won away to St Mirren in nine visits going back to 2018 and have only won on six of 24 trips to the Buddies' current home since they moved across town from Love Street.

It was also where their winter of discontent officially began amid Storm Bert's heavy snow which had put the game in doubt. Even after that first defeat of the season in Renfrewshire, Aberdeen had a 23-point advantage over Hibs which has since been whittled away.

Three of the Dons' final four fixtures are away from home with trips to Rangers and Dundee United either side of a Scottish Cup final dress rehearsal against Celtic at Pittodrie.

However, the race for top three is in the melting pot, and it promises to be a dramatic conclusion to this section of the table.

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Aberdeen have secured an allocation of 20,000 tickets for next month's Scottish Cup final against Celtic at Hampden.

The Dons says it is the "largest allocation we have received for a final" in recent years and they have agreed to underwrite the cost of any unsold tickets.

The club's statement added: "After extensive discussions, we were initially faced with the option of accepting a guaranteed 16,800 tickets, with a potential (but not guaranteed) additional 2,000 tickets.

"However, driven by our collective belief and confidence in the Red Army, and wanting to give every Dons supporter the best opportunity of being there to back Jimmy and the team, we agreed to underwrite a larger allocation which includes the North Stand up to the halfway line.

"We believe this significant allocation is a testament to our commitment to ensuring as many fans as possible can support the team at this crucial match, our first Scottish Cup final since 2017."

The game on Saturday 24 May (15:00 BST kick-off) will be shown live on BBC One Scotland and will also be available to watch via BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.