Aberdeen 'capable of third or fourth' in Thelin's first season - Dodds

A top-four finish is a realistic target for Aberdeen in Jimmy Thelin's first season at the helm, says Billy Dodds.

The former Dons and Scotland forward is excited by Swede Thelin's arrival at Pittodrie from Elfsborg and hopes he can hold on to star striker Bojan Miovski.

"It’s something fresh and I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure the fans are the same," Dodds told BBC Scotland Sportsound.

"It’s a big job but a really good club. The Aberdeen fans are actually quite realistic. They don’t think they’ll win the Premiership. They’re capable of third or fourth, although they’ve got to improve a lot on last year and if they lose Miovski it’s a body blow.

"With the training base now it’s all set up for Thelin to put a team on the pitch that will please Aberdeen fans.

"He proved he is a good coach at Elfsborg. He still has to come here and do it though.

"It will be interesting to see how he goes about the tactics. How he sets his team up – are they going to be attacking? What formation will he play?"

Former Scotland midfielder John Collins, who was assistant to Norwegian Ronny Deila at Celtic, believes Thelin will have no problems adapting to life in the north east.

"His English is perfect, like most Scandinavians. There’s not a great difference between the Scandinavian and Scottish culture and weather," said Collins.

"He did very good job at Elfsborg – two second-place finishes in six years at a smaller club.

"I look forward to seeing how he sets up tactically. He has to recruit well and then we’ll see what style of football he gets them playing."