Nicky Devlin talks night and day Aberdeen reaction from last Dundee visit as Jimmy Thelin matches Martin O'Neill record
Jimmy Thelin equalled Martin O’Neill’s 100 per cent winning start in Scotland as his Dons side dug deep to win their 12th game in a row.
But defender Nicky Devlin knows his ambitious boss is still some way off where he wants his berdeen team to be. The Reds made it 12 from 12 to continue the Swede’s perfect start. It saw Thelin match O’Neill’s record from more than two decades ago when he first stepped into the Celtic job in 2000. And his players have matched Brendan Rodgers’ current Hoops side stride for stride so far.
Devlin knows the Pittodrie gaffer deserves credit but admits there is still plenty of room for improvement. And the proud full-back said: “Records like that don’t get matched easily. It has taken a lot of effort but fair play to the gaffer. Since he has come in he has been excellent.
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“You can see the change the club is going through in the way we want to play and his style. In this process, if we can keep winning then we will be in a good place whenever he is happy with us.”
The delighted Red Army continued with their chant that ends with the words, “We’re going to win the league!” There are no such wild claims from the Pittodrie dressing room. They aren’t getting carried away because Thelin has their feet cemented to the ground.
Devlin said: “It was great, another win ticked off. The manager has already said that is how we are looking at it. We take it one game at a time and it was another three points for us. They showed last season and even at the start of this term that Dens Park is a difficult place to come and win. We managed to do that and so it is a brilliant day.”
Aberdeen had made a pitch-perfect start but they also rode their luck at times in recent weeks. Dundee made mistakes for both goals they lost but Aberdeen made them pay.
Billy Koumetio misjudged a long ball. That allowed Topi Keskinen to get in behind and set up Kevin Nisbet to sweep low past Jon McCracken. Mo Sylla then got robbed in the midfield by Graeme Shinnie and he released Keskinen who used his pace to get away and knock it past McCracken.
Dundee did get a goal back when Simon Murray got in behind Gavin Molloy and the defender brought him down inside the box. Murray then sent Mitov the wrong way from the spot. With Aberdeen 2-1 up at half-time, the second half was more of a rear-guard action as Dundee pinned them back and were the better team.
The Dark Blues were aggrieved that they didn’t take a point but Aberdeen managed to hold on. The Dons showed a different side to them as they dug this one out – they are on the crest of a wave and there is no sign of them going under.
Devlin said: “You are not always going to be brilliant for 90 minutes. You are not always going to be the best team on the park. You need to dig in t times.
“We have done it a couple of times, to be fair. Even in the last couple of minutes against Motherwell when it was backs to the wall for a wee bit.
“The second half, for long spells, Dundee put us under a lot of pressure. It’s always nice to win like that. If you asked me I would rather it was a bit more comfortable but it is great to win.”
Aberdeen haven’t lost a game in 90 minutes since March, on their last visit to Dens Park. That night, Aberdeen were struggling and they left to chants of, “You’re not fit to wear the shirt!” Now they are wearing their red tops with great pride.
Devlin said: “In 90 minutes, that was the last time we lost a game of football. It’s a long run we’ve been on since then. It’s definitely been a massive improvement. When we came here the last time, we were rightly booed off the park by the supporters. You see now the reception we got at the end of the game, it’s night and day.”
Times like these are why Devlin moved to Aberdeen. He added: “It feels like this is where the club should be.
“We know we still have a long way to go in the season but it feels good. You can tell when everybody comes to their work we are happy and delighted to be there.
“We may stay longer than the manager wants at times but the boys love being there and together as a group. Hopefully, we can keep using that going forward.”