After Aberdeen ended their recent run of defeats with a 0-0 draw with Hearts, Jimmy Thelin was hopeful that a corner might have been turned by his side.

“Sometimes you have to be happy for the small victories. When you are in the run we were before this game, and then you get a penalty against you in the 93rd minute, and you save it, it’s a really good feeling, because you have to stop losing and start building from somewhere. It was a really important save.

“We are happy for Ross. He had played well and he’s doing good things, but when you make that save, we just want to hug him and thank him so much! It was so important in this moment.

“I think we started the game really well, we looked more organised and more stable than for a while, and were quite consistent in some parts of the game. Still, we have to arrive with more players inside the opponent’s box, to be more dangerous when we arrive there. Usually it was Topi today and we need to add more players, but at least we created some really good chances.

“I think the last 15 minutes maybe, Hearts were a little bit better, but we kept them out. Shinnie did a really good run and blocked a shot, and then of course the penalty. Where we were, this point can be important for us now, we saw positive signs for the team. The new players did really well also, so that’s a good start.

“It’s a while since we had a clean sheet. It’s important to have that feeling, especially as the goals we get against us in the last couple of games were too easy, and today we were focused on being a better collective. It’s difficult if you always get two goals against you, and you have to score three to win, so it was good to have a clean sheet.

“We used Sivert at the back because he is a mature player, it’s good to see how he conducts himself as a centre-back. He’s a really clever player, and he’s not afraid to take responsibility, ‘I take it, I’m going to play, I’m going to do my best.’ I like the spirit he has. In a difficult time, he changed position and played so good.

“I think Kristers did really well also. He’s a calm player, he can organise a team. We had to have in mind that we also have to take him off. He’s coming from not playing, not training so much, we have to be careful about him. The same with Jeppe.”

A clean sheet and a point on the board is a small step forward, but Jimmy was just as pleased with the way the players went about their jobs at Pittodrie.

“I’m not a guy talking about confidence, I’m talking about processes, I know it’s not the most exciting word in the world, but I believe it is how you grow and be consistent in some parts, and when there are hard times, don’t doubt, get even stronger, do even more of what you want to happen in the future, and get out on the other side, and that’s what we’re pushing for.

“We have a clear picture in our heads, everybody who’s working for Aberdeen Football Club, how we want to build a team, how we want to look in the future. One part is to bring up the intensity in training sessions, inside the games, and we still have a journey to do that. We can cope with this and be better as a team, because we’re going to push for this until the end of the season. We have to grow, we have to play more intense, we have to be more stable in the games. That’s one part. The other part is recruitment and how we work with that.”