Many Scottish football pundits have had their say on how far Aberdeen can go this season.
On whether they can challenge for the title, just second place or neither.
But manager Jimmy Thelin is the first to downplay the chat and insist the focus is only on the next game.
If the form goes on the way it is though he will have trouble to singing from that hymn sheet later in the season.
Jimmy Thelin ‘100 per cent’ thinks Aberdeen can win the league
The Swede is unlikely to ever get drawn on a commitment either way in terms of a title challenge, unless perhaps they manage to take it down to the final day.
But he will “100 per cent” have that belief within himself and behind closed doors.
Johan Larsson played under him at Elfsborg so knows all about his mindset and reckons he WILL have mentioned it to his players.
He says Thelin always pushed for the team to push on as high as they could despite doubts from outside, which could be mirrored in this scenario.
Larsson told the Scottish Sun: “Jimmy would never, ever let it slip out of the locker room but I am 100 per cent sure he thinks about it. He has probably mentioned it to his players too. Aberdeen look to have that mindset, especially after what they did away from home to Celtic.
“Jimmy’s case for moving to Scotland was to do something special. Of course, he wanted to win the title here but he felt it was the end of the road at Elfsborg and had squeezed the lemon as much as he could.
“He wanted a similar task to take on and Aberdeen for him was the best chance to do that. The expectations are not sky high and nobody expects a league title. But the history, from the good old days with Sir Alex Ferguson, shows what is possible there.
“His feeling when he took on the Aberdeen challenge would have been to do the same thing as he did at Elfsborg and do something there that hasn’t been done for a long time. I guess in Scotland people still believe Celtic will run away with the title.
“That was the feeling people had about Malmo when Jimmy was here at Elfsborg. They were untouchable because of the Champions League money so it’s very similar, where Celtic have dominated in Scotland for such a long time now.
“I see there are similarities in the two situations. We had struggled a bit in the summer but then we caught fire and went on a run. We didn’t lose a game for a long time.
“People realised then we were capable of challenging but they still thought that Malmo, as the biggest team in Sweden, would run away with it. Over time people started to believe and think, ‘Wait a minute, this could really happen’. And it nearly did.
“Jimmy won’t change because it’s Celtic or Rangers, that’s not him. He will look at those games the same as when they play Dundee United or anyone else.
“Jimmy’s way of working is to fire up his own team, focus on what they can do and what they do well. That doesn’t matter if it’s Celtic or Rangers, he will find the opponent totally irrelevant. The only thing he finds relevant is his own team, what he wants them to do. His only thought is about how WE do it. He doesn’t care much about anyone else at all.”
Aberdeen could do a Leicester City
Former Dons striker Lee Miller reckons they CAN challenge for the top two, but wonders if that elusive top spot is just a step too far.
He said: “You say 15 unbeaten, and that’s 14 wins and the draw comes against Celtic. So I don’t see why they can’t split the Old Firm.
“Celtic are strong, there’s no getting away from that. I think Aberdeen will be realistic, they won’t be talking about winning the league. They’ll be talking about every game as it comes.”
Neil McCann has compared the situation to Leicester City’s title triumph in 2016.
He added: “It’s just brilliant for our product when you turn on the TV to watch games and there is full stadiums.
“There’s a bit of belief there. Maybe the players and manager won’t be talking about a title win but the fans in the pubs will be thinking they can dream.
“Has it got a wee bit of a Leicester feel about it, somebody that maybe shouldn’t because of the budget?
“Once that momentum starts and the belief within a group…to win titles sometimes it’s not about pretty football, it’s about grinding out results.
“Not a shot on target for Dundee United which means that team are functioning defensively.”