Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin’s plan to close the Premiership gap on Celtic and Rangers.

Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1990, but ended far behind Celtic and Rangers in the Premiership.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has disclosed that he is working on a summer plan to close the Premiership gap with Celtic and Rangers. Thelin led the Dons to their first Scottish Cup victory since 1990, defeating Premiership winners Celtic on penalties in the final. That silverware triumph ensured European group stage participation until at least mid-December. However, the Reds ended fifth in the Premiership, 39 points behind champions Celtic and 22 behind second-placed Rangers.

That gap existed despite Aberdeen’s 11-game unbeaten start to the Premiership season, which put them level on points with Celtic at the top of the table. At that point, Thelin’s Reds were nine points ahead of Rangers in the table. In his second season as Pittodrie manager, Thelin is determined to close the league gap with the Old Firm.

Aberdeen ‘want to close the gap’

The Swede will spend the offseason reviewing his first season as Aberdeen manager to identify areas where he can improve to go closer to Celtic and Rangers. Thelin says that this will include everything from bringing in new players to adjusting the training and playing style. He stated: “We will review last season and see what we can do better. “We understand that in order to close the gap with the other teams, we must improve in some areas. “We can see signals that things need to be changed.

One approach is to recruit more players, and there may also be opportunities in training. “It might also be about our attitude to the games, such as securing more transitions. “The work is for us is to analyse all those things ahead of the pre-season.” Aberdeen will resume pre-season training in late June to prepare for a season in which Thelin’s side will play in European groups.

Preparations for new campaign

They’ll fly to Portugal for a 10-day warm-weather training camp. Aberdeen will also play a friendly against English Championship Ipswich Town at Pittodrie on Friday, July 25 (7.30pm), and Cove Rangers away on Saturday, July 12 (1pm). There are also plans for a friendly on Saturday, July 19. The Scottish Cup victory secured qualification for the Europa League play-offs. The play-off draw will be held on August 4, with games scheduled for August 21 and August 21. If Aberdeen wins the play-off, Thelin’s team will be eligible for the Europa League, with eight games guaranteed until late January. If the Reds are eliminated from the playoffs, they will be relegated to the Conference League.

Thelin has already begun bolstering the roster for the upcoming season, recruiting four new players. Emmanuel Gyamfi, 20, was signed on a four-year contract from German Bundesliga 2 club FC Schalke 04 for an undisclosed price.

Winger Nicolas Milanovic was signed from Australian club Western Sydney Wanderers for roughly £400,000. Milanovic signed a three-year contract with the Dons, with the option to extend it by another year.

Thelin targets more summer signings

Kusini Yengi, 26, an Australia international striker, was signed on a free transfer until summer 2028 when his contract with Championship Portsmouth expired. Nick Suman, 25, a former Australian under-23 international custodian, will also join Aberdeen after his contract with Cove Rangers expired. The Dons have been connected with a summer transfer window move for Cape Verde international midfielder Ilano Silva Timas, who plays for Dutch second-tier club Maastricht. However, it is understood that Aberdeen has no interest in signing Timas.

Aberdeen are in advanced talks with several transfer targets in preparation for summer deals. Thelin stated: “In the recruitment department, everyone works extremely hard. “Aside from that, we will focus on other areas to prepare for the new season. “We will further plan that throughout the summer vacation. “We have to think and analyse it and then believe in it for the new season.”

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