Aberdeen’s extraordinary start to the season continued after a thrilling battle with Hearts at Pittodrie on Sunday as they racked up win number 13 in succession.
The early success that Jimmy Thelin has enjoyed has surprised even the man himself as they came through another test of their credentials against a rejuvenated-looking Edinburgh side who produced their best performance of the season in the Granite City.
The Swede has already surpassed the win totals of predecessors Stephen Glass (nine), Alex Miller (10), Jim Goodwin (11) and matched Mark McGhee.
It’s true the Dons lived a charmed life at times, with Lawrence Shankland and Kenneth Vargas guilty of passing up gilt-edged opportunities before Jorge Grant’s sending off, but Aberdeen found a way to win. Just as they did in Dundee and Dingwall.
On 14 March, then interim manager Peter Leven admitted the team was “in trouble” in the wake of a defeat at Dens Park that left Aberdeen without a league win in 11 outings.
They sat perilously close to the relegation play-off position and not one Dons fan who witnessed that performance would have taken you seriously if you’d told them they wouldn’t lose a Premiership game for the next seven months.
The return of Duk appears to be a timely one as well. He thanked the packed home sections for a warm welcome back into the fold by setting up Ante Palaversa’s late winner and his presence is a nice surprise for Thelin.
Talking of Palaversa, what a signing he could prove to be and it would be no surprise to see him start games regularly after his dramatic cameo against Hearts.
Manchester City signed him for 7m euros in 2019 and he looks a class act. Thelin will surely be looking at starting him in their next match, that being a top-of-the-table clash at Celtic Park.
What a prospect that match is and what a time it would be for Aberdeen to address a woeful current record against the champions.
With the international break upon us, that match is on the back-burner for now and we will reconvene next time to put that fixture under the microscope as the Dons look to make everyone stand up and take notice of the Thelin revolution.