Thelin treating tough away run as a 'challenge' not a 'negative'

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says he is relishing the "challenge" of three successive away games instead of treating it as a "negative".

The Dons travel to Tynecastle on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership, having lost at St Mirren on Saturday and drawn at Hibs on Tuesday.

Thelin also says the testing run of fixtures has allowed him to better understand his squad and which players can cope best with multiple games in a week.

“I try to always stay positive and take it as a challenge," Thelin said.

"How can we best prepare and be ready? Don't think about the negative things. You can't change that it is three away games.

"We always have to think about what we can do. Every week we understand which players have more capacity to play three games in a week, and that can also shift during the season. That's why you need to go day by day and game by game."

Despite Hearts' struggles this season, which continued on Thursday with a Conference League loss against Cercle Brugge, Thelin is not taking anything for granted in the capital.

"They have a good squad, and made early changes in [Thursday's] game so I expect they will be ready," the Swedish manager said.

"They have good players, a new coach with new ideas. I don't think any game in this league is easy. We have to try to keep balance in our games and take the challenge."