Don of a new era as Jimmy Thelin named Aberdeen boss

The Swede will officially take over as manager in the summer

Author: Dave GallowayPublished 16th Apr 2024
Last updated 16th Apr 2024

Aberdeen have announced Jimmy Thelin as their new manager.

He'll take over in early June following his departure from Swedish side IF Elfsborg, where he took over in 2018.

The 46-year-old narrowly missed out on leading them to the Allsvenskan title last season, only missing out on goal difference.

The appointment of a permanent boss comes around 11 weeks after Barry Robson's sacking.

Dons caretaker Peter Leven will remain in charge for the rest of the season.

Following the announcement, club chairman Dave Cormack said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Jimmy to Pittodrie this summer.

“The extensive process we ran allowed us to speak with several excellent candidates from both the UK and abroad.

"As the process evolved, we were determined to land Jimmy and were prepared to be patient. Elfsborg certainly didn’t make it easy for us, which tells you how highly they think of his six-year tenure.

“The Board felt that Jimmy’s style and playing philosophy, his ability to continually develop excellent players within a successful player trading model and his experience at taking a team and having them compete at the top end of the table all really matched the criteria we had set out at the start.

“He has a reputation in Sweden as a team builder; someone who will methodically construct a winning side over time.

"From our point of view, we want this appointment to anchor the Club for years to come, and to work with Jimmy and his coaching staff to create something special at Aberdeen. That will take time, we understand that.

“Everyone at AFC is looking forward to working with Jimmy from June and, at the same time, are very thankful to Peter Leven for agreeing to lead the team until the end of the campaign. I would ask the fans to get right behind Peter, and the team, in the remaining matches of the 23/24 campaign.”

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