Aberdeen are not on the fast track to progress – but is Jimmy Thelen on the right track?

Focusing on their league form is perhaps the most direct way to try to answer this question.

There is no doubt that he succeeded in steadying Duns, a ship that had appeared to be sinking earlier in the campaign.

In their first six games – against Hearts, Celtic, Falkirk, Livingston, Dundee United and Motherwell – they have picked up just one point.

They also conceded nine goals, and failed to score in any of those matches.

But after that scare, they went on a run that saw them lose just one of their next five league games – against Dundee, St Mirren, Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Motherwell – a run that can be broken down into three wins, a draw and one defeat.

They’ve managed to close the door at the back too, conceding just three goals and scoring eight.

So the clear improvement has seen them move up the standings to eighth place, where they remain in touch with the teams above them.

This all sounds fairly positive, but there are clear reasons for concern.

Creating goal-scoring opportunities, and taking advantage of the few ones, remains a major problem.

While Aberdeen boast the fourth-best defensive record in the division, they also have the worst goal-scoring record.

Speaking after Sunday’s draw with Motherwell, Thielen noted: “We have some good chances, at least we are there and again if you are stable in defence, you can always grow.

He added: “But we still have to improve the way we attack the ball because when we control the ball up front, we are always dangerous but we have to do that with more consistency.”