Aberdeen: What went wrong for Jimmy Thelen's side as a record-breaking start turned into a 10-game winless streak? | Football news

In November, Aberdeen fans were daring to dream of a title change. Jimmy Thelen's unbeaten side won 10 of their first 11 league games and were joint top of the Scottish Premiership.

However, the stuff of dreams quickly turned into a nightmare. Since their 4-1 win over Dundee, the Dons have not won a game. Seven defeats in their last 10 matches have seen the club drop to fourth in the table and 22 points behind Celtic.

Every fan and Thielen himself were expecting a bump or two in the road at some point, but no one could have imagined such a dramatic drop in results – so what went wrong at Pittodrie?

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One of: injury issues, defensive issues, or a lack of goals would be an issue for most teams – but the Dons appear to have all three, leaving Thielen with “problems” to solve.

Thielen: We have to get better

Even when the Dons were destroying everything that came their way, they still failed to keep a clean sheet. Only three came during that unbeaten run in the league and none have followed since.

The team's top scorer at the time, Papi Guy, was ruled out through injury and the regular flow of goals from Jimmy McGrath, Kevin Nisbet, Topi Keskinen and co was halted – and those defensive problems were highlighted, as was the lack of a cutting-edge attacking line. .

Aberdeen – who sold prolific striker Bojan Mevski for £6.8m in the summer – had more possession in their last 10 games than in their first 10, but created fewer clear-cut chances, scored fewer goals and won no games.

Add to that, he has some major injuries to deal with. Gavin Molloy, Vicente Bisogen, Esther Sokler and Dimitar Mitov joined Guy on the sidelines.

However, Thielen – who has been in charge for six months – refuses to panic despite his poor form.

“It's football, sometimes we have some problems that we have to solve – in the team, in our game, in our performance,” he said. Sky Sports News Before facing Hearts on Sunday, Live on Sky Sports.

“We have to improve. Even when we were winning games, we saw some things that we have to improve in the long term to be a stable and cohesive team to fight for the European place.

He added: “Then we have some injuries, but I still think we have a good team that will also give the other players a chance.

“I didn’t expect not to lose 11 games, and I didn’t expect not to win 10 games, so we have to find the balance there, try to get better, and continue to believe in what we are doing and what we are doing.” Don't lose sight of the long term.

“You have to try to hide your weakness and show more of your strengths. We have some parts that we have to improve as a team and as a group.”

January signings to strengthen the team?

Thielen was quick to add to his squad in the January transfer window, with the arrivals of winger Jeppe Ukels and Christers Taubers, and more could follow.

“You always have an ambition to improve the team,” he added. “It can be through training. Time will help players grow and become better.

“Sometimes you also need recruitment to find the right profile, so I think it's a never-ending story. You always have to try to improve every week in training, but also build a team in the long term through recruitment.

“I know Ukel from the past, of course. He's a good winger, he has the ability to run a lot and he can go behind the backline. Toppers has good leadership and he's also good on the ball, but he can also help other players with that.” “Grows.”

What is the view from the stands?

talking to Sky SportsAberdeen fan Gary Scott of the ABZ Football Podcast said:

“What you see now is a team that lacks confidence and belief, and this is evident in performance and results.

“What we saw at the beginning of the season were results that covered up the clear shortcomings of the squad and the squad.

“We were still conceding ridiculous goals at the start of the season during the winning streak, but that was overlooked because we were winning. It's normal for us to get involved in the hype but now the goals have stopped too.

“It's about good margins in games. In this 10-game series, we were ahead in some games but failed to convert, and then there was a period when the opposition were in control and they made us pay.

“We don't take risks and we still score stupid goals. No matter what anyone says, from second to 12th, this league is competitive and you don't get points if you don't take your chances.

“I think Thielen knew all along how big of a challenge he faced when he joined the club in the summer. If nothing else, the last 10 games have made that clear for him. He will know who the personalities are that have the mentality to cope. With the demands, he will know now Who's going to be on the trip we've all heard about?

“Looking at the bigger picture, at the start of this season, I would have taken a comfortable top-six finish as a sign of progress. As it stands now, every fan would have seen their involvement in third place and the Scottish Cup coming.

“It gets annoying when it opens up in front of you. There seem to be Rangers who want to give away second place but we are shooting ourselves in the foot. However, we would all have accepted this start had it been offered to us in the summer. Hopefully we can get back to winning ways and continue to improve the team in January.”