Jimmy Thelin's journey from footballing vampire to family man as Swede sinks his teeth into Aberdeen challenge

Jimmy Thelin once was described as a footballing vampire and he admitted he can’t wait to get his teeth into the Aberdeen job.

The hard-working Swede got the cruel nickname from his brother when he was at Jonkopings Sodra, working all hours, along with assistant Christer Persson, as he tried to make his name as an up and coming coach. Thelin admitted that vampire is now dead because he has children but that won’t stop him putting the long hours in to get Aberdeen back to being a major Scottish force again and European regulars. The 46-year-old was headhunted from Elfsborg and has started his Pittodrie revolution this week, with his team back for pre-season training.

Thelin said: “Yes, but the vampire is dead now. Now that I have children! It was actually quite crazy. Myself and Chris, one of the assistant coaches, were changing computer sticks. It was like one in the morning and were like ‘look at this player, look at this player’ then we’d be up working, then training.

“It was from six in the morning, right through, a few hours sleep and then go again. That’s what you have to do sometimes. It was just me and him. But I couldn’t do that for 25 years. It would be impossible.”

Thelin went on a family holiday after he left Sweden and admitted he was working on his Aberdeen revolution into the early Paris hours. He stated: “When the children fell asleep, the computer went up.

‘I saw my children in Paris but not my wife. But she knows…”

Aberdeen’s greatest moment came in Gothenburg - when they beat Real Madrid to lift the 1983 European Cup Winners Cup. Thelin is hoping he can add to the Red Army’s Swedish love affair. He admitted: “Gothenburg is an amazing story. It is good. Maybe it is a sign.”

Thelin was previously