No ultimatum from Aberdeen chairman, says Thelin

Under-pressure Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says he has not been given any "must win" targets during his almost daily conversations with chairman Dave Cormack.

The Dons are still seeking their first win - or goal - of the Scottish Premiership season as they visit Motherwell on Saturday.

Growing sections of the Red Army have been voicing their frustration with their team bottom of the table with just one point after five games.

Asked whether Cormack has been set any win or points targets for the upcoming games, Thelin said: "No, we just focus on the games ahead of us.

"I am the responsible person, I am the manager of the football club, but I also have good staff. I still have the same procedure with my chairman and we talk more or less every day and everybody is aligned how we want to fix this and we still believe we can.

"When you have this strong belief that we are going to find a way out then it is just to do the work to get the right results."

Last weekend's Premier Sports Cup exit at the hands of Saturday's opponents has also added to the negative narrative.

"You have to respect that there can be noise, there can be pressure, it can be media, it can be social media and the players just need to focus on what they can control," Thelin said.

"The rest we can't control, so we have to give our fans more about that on the pitch and don't get so infected on the noise."

Thelin admitted that Aberdeen's play "is not fast enough, it is not intense enough and the direction is not as front-footed as we want".

"It is too much hesitation and then we turn back and play more backwards than forwards," he said. "So that is what we are working on."

Thelin said they have had "a calm chat" and believes "everybody is united" about what they need to do to change their fortunes.

"You see the team on the training sessions - everybody is so focused because it is so clear what we have to do," he added.

"The pressure is there, but the players know and I feel they want to go out now and show our fans that it is clear for everyone what Aberdeen Football Club stands for."