Jimmy Thelin shrugs off Celtic mauling as Aberdeen boss backs Doohan to fill Mitov void

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin is looking to put his side's Hampden mauling at the hands of Celtic behind him with a big performance against the league leaders on Wednesday night.

The top of the table clash is set to see another huge crowd descend on Pittodrie full of hope that the Dons can secure their first home victory against the Hoops since 2016.

But they will have to do it without star keeper Dimitar Mitov after the Bulgarian was ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury, opening the door for Ross Doohan to face his former club.

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Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Thelin confirmed Tom Ritchie had been recalled from his loan at Bonnyrigg Rose following Mitov's injury.

He also revealed that Jack MacKenzie will likely miss out on the Celtic clash having been left out of the side that faced Hearts on Sunday, with the full-back "some more days" away from his return.

Thelin backed Doohan to fill the void left by Mitov's absence, saying: "That’s football sometimes and players get injured. Of course we want to always have everybody available but it happens.

"Ross came in and did well. He trained well over the past few days and we are confident he is going to do a good job for us. Tom Ritchie has been called back, we take it week by week now and we take it from there.

"Dimi has been really good since he came in during the summer, he is a really good goalkeeper. We have a squad and we have to find solutions and stay positive in this part, how we prepare for the next game.

"You always think about the player perspective, they are doing well and that’s the thing, you support them so they can come back and get even better when they come back. It’s always difficult when these things happen. He’s a positive guy and we have a good medical team here and we will support him in his journey back.

"Jack MacKenzie won’t be available for tomorrow, we need to wait some more days. He is almost there but tomorrow is a short time. Everyone else is available apart from Pape who is still out."

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Thelin is glad to be back at Pittodrie after a tough week on the road, dropping points at St Mirren, Hibs and Hearts to fall four points behind Celtic.

But the wounds of their 6-0 defeat at Hampden to Brendan Rodgers' side are still raw, and Thelin wants to see his team use their perfect home record to their advantage and pick up a big victory against the title holders.

He added: "We take it game by game and the season is long. For us it’s nice to be back home at Pittodrie. It was a tough week with travelling last week and tough games.

"It’s nice to play in front of our supporters at home and use this atmosphere to go out with a lot of energy and a strong belief in what we can do and approach the game in that way.

"You should never stay in the past (when asked about the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden) when you’re in this business because the games are coming so quick. Even if you win or lose a game, you can’t stay and think about what happened before.

"The thing you can do is to develop your own ideas, what we want to create here, our identity, how we want to be stronger because we know we have things to improve of course. That’s been our focus since day one. It hasn’t changed. We try to have a good performance over time and be better in some parts to have a clear identity.

"For us, what has happened before doesn’t matter for tomorrow. That was a big semi-final and Celtic played really well good in that game. Tomorrow is another game, a new game.

"We play at home and we’re going to try to use that atmosphere and the support we have during the whole season both at home and away and be strong in our parts of the game. We know what they are good at but we have to focus on our things."

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The Reds manager made six changes for the Tynecastle draw, and despite dropping points for a third straight game Thelin was pleased by the performances of his players that stepped up in Gorgie.

"If you train in something and if you’re clear in an identity in what the players should do," he added. "Also they have experiences in this before and they are good players.

"Angus [MacDonald] did really well, how we conducted himself and coped with the 90 minutes. Jimmy [McGarry] started really well and then he had some fatigue and we have to change but he is ready again.

"Jack Milne was prepared to play left back, full back or centre back, he was ready for every position because we know someone needs to change, it was Jimmy’s first game and he came in and did really well also.

"That’s what we have said to the players since day one, in the beginning you want to create some stability or core to get a good start of the season. The schedule is what it is, there is a lot of games, players will get opportunities, they have to be ready.

"That’s why we take it day by day and the training is so important for the players. Be ready and prepared because the opportunities will be there for everyone to show themselves and take responsibility for the team and be strong during a whole season.

"That’s why you need the whole squad and everyone needs to feel apart of this responsibility to play a part for a good season for Aberdeen Football Club."