“My focus is 100% here” – Aberdeen boss Thielen on Sweden Links

Jimmy Thelen insists he is fully committed to Aberdeen, after being linked with the Swedish manager’s vacant position this week.

Sweden is looking for a replacement for John Dahl Tomasson after their poor World Cup qualifying campaign.

But Thielen was quick to stress his desire to remain with the Scottish Cup holders, despite a difficult start to his second season at Pittodrie.

“It’s always an honor to be mentioned in such circumstances but I have a long contract here,” he said in response to a question about speculation in his home country.

“I’m really happy with the spirit and surroundings here and I hope we have a lot of good things to look forward to. My focus is 100% here.

“We’ve been through a tough time but we still have strong faith in the three-year plan we have. It’s a journey I’d really love to be a part of.”

Aberdeen is in last place in the English Premier League before the visit of St Mirren on Saturday, but achieved its first league win of the season in impressive fashion before the international break, beating Dundee 4-0.

“I feel like the team is moving in the right direction,” Thielen said.

“We always want things to go faster but we worked hard. There were setbacks and disappointments, but the spirit was always high.

“As long as you keep the morale high, you can always turn things around.

“It’s not going to be easy. There’s no quick fix but we have a way of dealing with the things we can control. The way we act, the way we act.”

Aberdeen are winless in their last 10 league visits to St Mirren and Thielen lost both games in Paisley last season.

“the boss [Stephen Robinson] “He’s been there for a while and done a really good job. They’re a strong team, clear in what they’re doing, but my feeling is we’re ready to put in a really good game,” he said.

He also added that he had no plans to rest any players ahead of Thursday’s Conference League trip to AEK Athens, saying: “We are playing game by game and tomorrow is very important for us.”