Jimmy Thelin promises to write his own history at Aberdeen as new boss looks to a brighter future at Pittodrie

Scanning the walls of the room before his unveiling, Jimmy Thelin found himself in esteemed company.

In his direct line of vision were images of Willie Miller and Alex McLeish. Gordon Strachan and Russell Anderson were to his right. Lurking behind him were Neil Simpson and Joe Harper. Each one a reminder of the way things used to be.

Aberdeen’s illustrious history is rightly celebrated in these parts. It’s also been a burden for those who have tried in vain to emulate it.

Thelin, though, sees no reason why such a storied past should be an impediment to a brighter future.

He believes his players should feel privileged to stand on the shoulders of giants. It should inspire them to make their own indelible mark.

‘To create a good future, you have to start today,’ he said. ‘You can’t go back. But you can learn from the past sometimes.

‘In this case, we can look at the walls here and see some amazing things. But I can’t put that pressure on the players I have now. We can’t be responsible for that.

‘Our responsibility is what we can do in the future. We need to take a little bit off the shoulders.

‘Okay, we can be really proud that we have a job here and take responsibility for that. But now we have to make our story, to be stronger and build from that.

‘I like Pittodrie and this history. I feel it. We can use it in a good way.’

The fact that the 46-year-old is the fifth man to sit in the chair since Derek McInnes vacated it three years ago says a great deal.

Chairman Dave Cormack tried every possible combination. The leftfield candidate in Stephen Glass. The emerging Jim Goodwin. The in-house option of Barry Robson. The veteran Neil Warnock. No one cut the mustard.

Thelin arrives at a club that’s been starved of success yet, paradoxically, has probably come to the realisation that it doesn’t happen overnight.

The Swede’s accomplishments over six years at Elfsborg are the reasons why the Pittodrie board believe their protracted pursuit of him will be worthwhile.

While he would naturally like to repay that faith in short order, he warns that patience will be required.

‘Every time when you change things, try to add things, it always can be really exciting in the beginning,’ he said.

‘But, still, you really have to support the journey and do it together. It’s most important that everyone sees there is progress, that it is getting better.

‘There will be some bumps along the way but, hopefully, we can still get higher and higher and stronger and stronger. If they see that, I think the time will be there.’

New arrivals Gavin Molloy, Peter Ambrose and Dimitar Mitov will become more embedded in the squad during a training camp in Portugal. Others will follow.

Thelin has a preferred style of play but he will take a pragmatic approach until he has assembled a squad which can roll that out.

Yet there are still a number of fundamentals he wants to instil from the start.

‘We are from a city with granite,’ he said. ‘For me, we have to use that. A granite block, how we defend. And use these kind of things, like a DNA.

‘It’s quite similar (to Sweden) but still it’s different players, a different league.

‘The main difference is maybe some more set-plays, going harder at the centre-backs, more second balls. It’s quite a quick game.’

Thelin’s interest in the Scottish game first piqued a year ago. He held informal talks with Aberdeen just before Robson was appointed.

While there wasn’t quite a mutual desire to get a deal done, he always felt it would happen.

‘It was more like an informal meeting to start to know each other,’ he reflected.

Having subsequently taken Elfsborg within a hair’s breadth of the title, Aberdeen’s interest intensified the minute Warnock left the building.

The weeks before a deal was struck between the clubs were challenging.

‘I had a contract with Elfsborg and I always try to be loyal to where I am right now,’ said Thelin. ‘It’s important for me how you arrive at a club but also how you leave. I want people to trust me.’

Anyone who knows Thelin contends that it was always going to take something special to persuade him to leave his homeland. Instinctively, he felt the challenge at Pittodrie was the one.

He is seen as one of the brightest young managers in Sweden, and Aberdeen fans will now hope that the many positive portents are proven to be correct.

‘Before getting this job, there were other options but I told my agent that we should go for Aberdeen as I still remembered the last time I was there,’ explained Thelin. ‘You have to interact with the club. Can you give something to them? Can we do something together? Why do they want me?

‘It’s not just: “I’ve got a job”. That never works well.’