Aberdeen tasted victory for just the second time since November when Dunfermline came to town this afternoon.
The Dons ran out 3-0 victors over the Pars in today’s Scottish Cup fifth round tie as a cup run provides the perfect antidote to their Premiership struggles, where they’ve gone 14 games without a win.
Aberdeen are now in the hat for the Scottish Cup quarter-final draw which takes place tomorrow night after St Mirren face Hearts.
Jimmy Thelin had promised to have words with his players through the week and while there are still improvements to be made, they certainly looked a lot better.
Pape Gueye got his first goal since returning from injury, Alexander Jensen his first for the club and Kevin Nisbet broke his duck which will be a confidence booster.
The Dons’ displays seem to have got worse and worse throughout their miserable run but the manager with pleased with some of what he saw today.
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Thelin pleased with Aberdeen attacking intent
Thelin thought his players were better in how they attacked, showing more cutting edge and intent.
A clean sheet also helps to build a belief in what they’re doing.
He said: “We are in the draw tomorrow now and we are looking forward to that.
“It was an important game for us and we had to win. In the first half we saw some more directness in how we attack, the things we’ve been working on.
“It’s good to see some clear signs of how we want to look and this attacking approach.
“It’s always difficult but we got a clean sheet and three goals.”
Nisbet gets Aberdeen reward
Like the team as a whole, Nisbet has been low in confidence and that was shown even today with a bad miss.
But he ended up on the scoresheet with a tap in and that has thrilled his boss.
Thelin added: “Kevin has worked really hard the last few weeks in training and he’s getting sharper with every week.
“I could see in his smile after he scored that he was happy and relieved, so it’s good for him and good for us.”