Leighton Clarkson boost adds to heightening Aberdeen FC buzz as Thelin reveals the one stat he doesn't care for

Jimmy Thelin expects Leighton Clarkson to be back training with his Aberdeen first-team after the international break.

The midfielder injured his shoulder in the Premier Sports Cup clash win over Dumbarton. But Clarkson is now back running and his manager hopes he will be back in full training next week. The playmaker's return will be a timely boost to the Dons who have made a 100 per cent start to life under Thelin and are neck and neck with Celtic at the top of the Premiership table.

Fellow midfielder Dante Polvara is making progress from his own hamstring surgery but is still expected to be sidelined for several months. Thelin said: “Dante is still further down the road. Leighton is doing fine and has been on the pitch, not with contact yet. But he is working hard and looking fine. The goal is still after the national team break and hopefully he can be in training after that. Let’s see.”

Aberdeen have hit the ground impressively under Thelin. The new boss came in over the summer and admitted it would be about putting building blocks in place. It was a case of putting the essentials in place of pressing high and then attacking with pace. The new man believes his team have bought into his methods and are well down the road. Thelin admitted: “For me the most important thing is how we attack and how we press is coming more often in a game now. Not a habit, but it is more consistent. We can find different ways to attack if the opponents play in a low block, medium block or high block.

"How we want to attack the teams. it is more about repeat and improving rather than adding a lot of things. As still it is not what we want it to be. Then when we have that we can add more things to our game. That’s why I talk about the long