Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin working on plan to fix problem that has damaged club for FIVE years.

Only two Premiership teams in the recently concluded season had poorer away league form than Aberdeen: demoted St Johnstone and Ross County.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has stated that he is working on a solution to the club’s poor away Premiership form, which has plagued them for five years.

The Reds’ league campaign was hampered last season by poor away form, with Thelin’s team winning only five of their 19 Premiership games on the road. Thelin’s side drew four and lost ten of the remaining away league games, earning only 19 points out of a possible 57.

Only St Johnstone (12 points) and Ross County (16 points) had worse away Premiership results than Aberdeen previous season, and both were relegated.

Aberdeen finished sixth in the Premiership, and Thelin admits their attempt to finish third was thwarted by the away day blues.

It is a problem that has plagued four former managers for five years.

Former Pittodrie managers Barry Robson, Jim Goodwin, Stephen Glass, and Derek McInnes all struggled in the away league during their last seasons.

‘We have to fix the away form’

Aberdeen has won only 23 Premiership matches in the last five seasons, drawing 22 and losing 52.

That is a terrible points return of 91 out of a potential 291. During the current summer break, Thelin is looking at why Aberdeen struggles on the road in the Premiership.

And he intends to use preseason to try to remedy the situation.

He stated, “We have a very good understanding about our away league record in recent years. “We need to improve that away form and make it much better for the future. “It’s something we should work on during the preseason.

“Even if you convert some losses to draws and draws to victories away from home, these extra points make a significant difference at the conclusion of the season. “So we have to consider what we need to modify in our approach to away games.

“Also, the manner we play those away games has changed significantly from how we did last season.

“We’ll have more time to understand ourselves and the players and determine what we need to accomplish. “You learn more with the players, maybe twist a little bit here, tweak a little bit there, to do better in the future.”

Aberdeen began the recently ended season unbeaten in their first four away Premiership matches, winning three and drawing one.

Away league form a problem for five years

That featured a 2-2 draw with Celtic at Parkhead, as Thelin’s team rallied from 2-0 down at the break to secure a point.

However, Aberdeen’s away day league difficulties returned, with the club suffering an eight-game Premiership road losing streak. Aberdeen’s Premiership away form has long been a source of concern for successive management.

The Reds won only five away league games during the 2023-24 season, under manager Robson and interim managers Neil Warnock and Peter Leven, respectively. During that season, they also drew five games and lost nine away Premiership matches.

Under Goodwin, Aberdeen won five league games away from home in the previous season, 2022-23. They drew one and lost thirteen. In 2021-22, Glass faced the same issue, with only two away Premiership wins, six ties, and 11 defeats.

Is mentality key to away league form?

Even former manager McInnes struggled away from home in the Premiership during his final season at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen won six away games in the 2020-21 season, drew six, and lost seven during McInnes’ tenure, which ended in March 2021.

Is the Premier League’s continued away struggles down to mentality?