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Aberdeen have lost both of their last two league meetings with St Mirren, last losing three in a row to the Buddies in July 2011. St Mirren have won two of their last three league trips to Aberdeen (L1), having failed to win any of their previous 15 beforehand (D8 L7). Aberdeen lost their first home league game of last season (3-1 to Celtic) but haven’t done so in successive campaigns since 2008-09/2009-10. St Mirren won 3-0 against Hibernian on matchday one this season and have won six of their last seven Scottish Premiership matches in August (D1). James Scott assisted two goals as a substitute in St Mirren’s win over Hibs – in his previous 63 Scottish Premiership appearances, he had only assisted three goals. Scott Mc Kenna featured in all three Scotland games at Euro 2024 this summer, including a start against Hungary Scotland centre-half Scott Mc Kenna has joined La Liga side Las Palmas on a three-year deal. Mc Kenna, 27, left Nottingham Forest this summer following the expiry of his contract and now makes the move to Gran Canaria. The former Aberdeen defender becomes the second Scotland international to sign for Las Palmas this summer after striker Oli Mc Burnie. Ante Palaversa faced Lionel Messi and PSG with Troyes in Ligue 1 in October 2022 Ante Palaversa is eager to kickstart his career at Aberdeen and show the talent that persuaded Manchester City to pay around £7m for his services five years ago. The Dons have paid Troyes an undisclosed fee to land the Croatian midfielder, 24, on a one-year deal with the option of a further two years. Palaversa shot to prominence with boyhood club Hajduk Split in his homeland before securing a move to City at age 18 in January 2019. Loan spells in Croatia, Spain and Belgium followed before he joined then Ligue 1 side Troyes, but he departs France having made just nine appearances in an injury-hit two-year spell. Should Jimmy Thelin be able to restore Palaversa to form and fitness, Aberdeen could have landed a gem in the former Croatia Under-21 international. The midfielder says he needs to grasp this opportunity at Pittodrie to "prove myself and get my career back on track". He added: "I know it is a big club and having spoken to the manager I know we all want to deliver success. "I’m a creative midfielder, I like to play football and I believe I will get my chance here. " In: Jimmy Thelin, manager (Elfsborg); Ante Palaversa, midfielder (Troyes, undisclosed); Sivert Heltne Nilsen, midfielder (Brann, undisclosed); Dimitar Mitov, goalkeeper (St Johnstone, undisclosed); Peter Ambrose, forward (Ujpest, undisclosed); Gavin Molloy, defender (Shelbourne); Noah Mc Donnell, defender (Larne, undisclosed). Out: Connor Barron, midfielder (Rangers, undisclosed); Junior Hoilett, forward (Hibernian); Kelle Roos, goalkeeper (Triestina); Kieran Ngwenya, defender (Dunfermline Athletic); Aaron Reid, forward (Airdrieonians); Finlay Murray, defender (Cove Rangers); Jonny Hayes, midfielder (retired); Liam Mac Donald, midfielder (Elgin City); Anthony Stewart, defender. Loan ended: Stefan Gartenmann, defender (Midtjylland); Killian Phillips, midfielder (Crystal Palace). Loan out: Adam Emslie, forward (Cove Rangers); Findlay Marshall, midfielder (Cove Rangers); Tom Ritchie, goalkeeper (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic). Read the Scottish Premiership ins & outs in full here. Genoa have 25-year-old Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski at the top of their wanted list to replace Mateo Retegui with the Italy international due to have a medical with Atalanta on Thursday. (Marco Conterio on X), external Chelsea have been contacted by Rangers over a potential move for 19-year-old academy midfielder Leo Castledine, but the London club want a straight loan while the Ibrox outfit want an option to buy, with Aberdeen also having registered an interest in the Englishman. (Football Scotland), external Aberdeen first-team coach Peter Leven is under consideration by Raith Rovers, who are looking to appoint a head coach to work under director of football John Potter rather than a manager at Stark’s Park after sacking Ian Murray. (Daily Record), external Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full here. Liam Mc Leod BBC Sport Scotland Commentator Last week I wrote here about the dearth of entertainment that Aberdeen and St Johnstone continually served up in recent seasons when they met, but Monday’s frenetic clash in Perth was a refreshing change from the norm. The Dons deserved their victory after their vigorous first-half performance. Saints struggled to contain them and the visitors were unlucky to only be one goal up at half-time, albeit there was a grandstand finish. The club has been relatively quiet in the transfer market this summer and there is a suspicion the board are waiting to see if Jimmy Thelin can get a tune out of what is in the building before committing to more numbers. One of the club’s priorities just now simply has to be trying to tie the influential Jamie Mc Grath down on an extended deal. The Irishman is into the last year of his contract and seems to be growing by the game, having finished last season strongly. He was superb in Perth, with a goal and an assist to his name. New signing Sivert Nilsen also impressed and is exactly the type of player Aberdeen had been missing last season. But, with Leighton Clarkson joining Dante Polvara on the long-term injured list, the squad is pretty light in numbers. Given they want to challenge Hearts this season, the difference in depth is quite stark – considering the Edinburgh side are close to having three players per position while the Aberdeen bench looked somewhat threadbare at Mc Diarmid Park. However, Thelin has become the first Pittodrie manager to win his opening five games. And although all but one of those was against lower-league opposition, he clearly has the players in a good mindset as they prepare to welcome in-form St Mirren to the Granite City on Sunday. Bojan Miovksi's Aberdeen future remains uncertain Jamie Mc Grath has hailed Bojan Miovski’s impactful return to the frontline as a "breath of fresh air" for Aberdeen. North Macedonia striker Miovski made his first start of the season in Monday night’s Premiership opener as Jimmy Thelin's side followed up four League Cup wins with a 2-1 victory at St Johnstone. The 25-year-old hit the bar from distance and was a major threat in the first half especially despite having played just 45 minutes in the group stage amid speculation over his future. "He could have looked like he wasn't match sharp but that wasn't the case, " said midfielder Mc Grath, who scored the Dons’ second. "He nearly stuck one in the top bin from 30 yards. He was a breath of fresh air to get back into the team and he gives us that point to link up. "You know when he has the ball he rarely gives it away. As a midfielder, that's the dream. He is only going to get sharper going into the season and long may that continue. " Having emerged as the match-winner in Perth, Mc Grath is now looking to kick off their home league campaign with a win against former club St Mirren on Sunday. The Dons won just seven of 19 home matches in the Premiership last season. "Our home form wasn't good enough, " the Republic of Ireland international said. "So far we have won all our home games and had a good feeling. The home fans will be behind us and that will be important going into a really tough game against St Mirren, who are flying. It is good to see them doing well in Europe. " Southampton have been linked with interest in Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski but the Premier League newcomers are not pursuing a move for the 25-year-old. (Sky Sports) Raith Rovers are eyeing a move for former Aberdeen caretaker manager and current Dons first-team coach Peter Leven. (Daily Record) Midfielder Jamie Mc Grath says Aberdeen can forget about a top-half Premiership finish unless they improve their home form from last season. (Press & Journal) Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip. Gary Scott Fan writer As starts go for new managers, beating a club record that has been in situ since 1977 is not a bad way to kick things off and the Dons’ 2-1 win over St. Johnstone on Monday night sees Jimmy Thelin become the first Aberdeen manager to win his first five competitive games. The cynic would suggest that, of course, those results have been somewhat padded out via the League Cup group stage but, nevertheless, it’s been a positive start to the Swede’s time in Scotland. Thelin has extolled the virtues of patience among the Aberdeen support since arriving in the summer with a key focus on repeating the message that this is a three-year project and, in the main, the Red Army has appeared to buy in to this mantra. That said, football is littered with plenty of “projects” which are abandoned at the first sign of trouble and so Thelin will no doubt be relieved to have got off to a winning start from which he can build from. Aberdeen’s first half performance in Perth was exceptional and it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to suggest that they should’ve been four or five goals up going in at the break. Bojan Miovski’s return helped to mitigate the loss of Leighton Clarkson through injury as the Dons ran riot. Miovski’s attitude since returning from the summer break has been exemplary – there’s a certain Cape Verdean attacker who would do well to take a leaf out of Miovski’s book. .. As has been the case in all of Thelin’s games so far, this wasn’t a complete performance. Saints came more and more into the game as the second half wore on and Jamie Mc Grath’s goal following an exquisite passing move arrived at a timely moment in the game but, even then, Aberdeen’s threadbare squad began to show as substitutions took place with a noticeable drop off in quality. Sivert Heltne Nilsen and Graeme Shinnie were excellent in the opening four, but began to tire as the game wore on – oh for the legs of Dante Polvara to be available. .. Gavin Molloy’s unfortunate own-goal took the shine off a decent first outing in the Premiership for the Irishman and made the final ten minutes of the game a lot nervier than it should’ve been, but Thelin’s side dug in to take the points – a first opening day win away from Pittodrie since 2015 and all eyes move towards the visit of the Paisley Saints to Pittodrie on Sunday in what will, likely, prove to be a stiffer examination of the Dons’ credentials. Gary Scott can be found on the ABZ Football Podcast, external Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin praised the attitude of star striker Bojan Miovski, after the North Macedonia international helped the Dons start their Premiership campaign with victory against St Johnstone. Miovski looked sharp in the 2-1 win at Mc Diarmid Park despite only playing 45 minutes during the entirety of the League Cup group stages as rumours circled surrounding his future. Thelin restored Miovski to the starting line-up for the first game of the league season, and says he had no doubts about doing so. "He has been ready all the time, " Thelin said. "But we also try to prepare the whole team and we don't have any friendly games. We had the cup games, Ester (Sokler) and Pete (Ambrose) were doing well and I know what Bojan can do. "He has been sharp in training, he's been mentally here. For the first cup game we took him out because it was a lot (of speculation) but since then he's been really, really focused and a lot of positive energy in the locker room and on the training pitch. "He showed he's here in his head and doing really well for Aberdeen. He's giving 100 per cent and he's a really good player. Right now he is an Aberdeen player and we focus on that and we take training day by day. " We asked you for your views on Aberdeen's winning start to the Scottish Premiership season against St Johnstone. Here's a flavour of what you had to say: Donald: Overall very encouraging signs, particularly in the first half on the footballing qualities of Thelin’s Dons. We should’ve been three or four goals up by half-time with well worked opportunities. Concerned though that we struggled to check Saints momentum in the second half. Better teams will make us pay, but Thelin’s Dons will only improve, that’s very exciting! BB: Three points was a must. Performance was good up until maybe 70 minutes, but should’ve been game over in the first half. Still think we need a couple more signings. Stuart: A good start, could have scored more goals, however the new players are still setting in. Will need to be sharper against St Mirren, though I'm sure Bojan Miovski will still be with us for the season. Struan: Finally a well balanced team. To see us play in that manner, creating, countering and defending so well, it's hard not to expect big things from this current Aberdeen team. Could, and maybe should, have been three up at half-time. .. Carry on like that and European football is assured next season. Calum: Really promising start and I think Thelin should do well. I am concerned with the squad depth, however. We don’t seem to have cover for central midfield or Sokler if Miovski does go. Kieran: We looked stronger, faster and more confident. I hope we don't sell Miovski for less than £6 million. So who knows if he'll still be here when window closes. .. Jonathan Sutherland Sportscene presenter Jamie Mc Grath underlined his importance to Aberdeen with what proved to be the winning goal in the away victory at St Johnstone. It was put on a plate for him by Sivert Heltne Nilsen. Jimmy Thelin has made quite the start to life in the Aberdeen dugout. The Swede became the first Aberdeen manager to win his first five games in charge, with Monday's 2-1 victory over St Johnstone adding to the four League Cup group-stage wins. Ryan Cryle, joint sports editor of the Press and Journal and Evening Express, is one of many admirers, and believes the Swede's tactical vision is starting to show already. "I think it was a great start for Jimmy Thelin in his first Premiership game, " Cryle said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "I think within the game itself, after a bit of a slow start - which has maybe been a little bit of a pattern so far over the last few games - you start to see the how Thelin wants Aberdeen to play. "Committing bodies forward in big numbers, nice attacking combinations, players running, making angles. .. and they had a good few chances in that first half. "They could have been out of sight by half-time last night. I think fans will have been excited by what they've seen in that opening period. They then concede a goal that in the second half came a little bit out of nowhere with the way things had been going. "Naturally when you have that combined with nine minutes of added time, as Jamie Mc Grath possibly said after the game, it does set the scene for that nervy finish. But they got over the line, got their three points and that's the most important thing. " Listen and subscribe to the Scottish Football Podcast here Jimmy Thelin is the first Aberdeen manager to win his first five games in charge. Aberdeen are undefeated in their last 10 games in the Premiership, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 17 May 2017 to 14 October 2017, a run of 11 games. The Dons have scored in each of their last six games in the Premiership, scoring 15 goals in that run. Aberdeen have only lost once in their last 15 visits to Mc Diarmid Park. Jamie Mc Grath created six chances against St Johnstone, the most by any player. Genoa and Southampton may bid for Aberdeen forward Bojan Miovski, 25. (Record), external Retired defender Andy Considine has returned to Aberdeen to work at the club's youth academy. (Press and Journal - subscription), external Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip This video can not be played Watch highlights as Aberdeen open their Scottish Premiership campaign with a 2-1 victory over St Johnstone (UK only). Well Aberdeen fans, what did you make of that? Are you enjoying the early Thelin era? Do you like the new style of play? And importantly, do you think Bojan Miovski will stay? Let us know your thoughts, external. Andrew Petrie BBC Sport Scotland The ‘new manager bounce’ is certainly a phenomenon, but pinning Aberdeen’s victory on the aforementioned affect would be unfair. The Dons’ looked assured tactically, carrying out their roles confidently and largely with aplomb. Thelin’s Elfsborg team were known for their direct approach and he has imprinted that style on Aberdeen quickly. It’s not quite ‘hoofball’ though, instead picking their moments quite deliberately to launch it long. So the manager has bedded in quickly, but can the new players? Heltne Nilsen looks to have added much-needed grit to the midfield, while Molloy and Mitov were largely untested for most of the night. Things could have been far more comfortable had they been a little more clinical, but the game management was there to see the game out. Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin told BBC Scotland: "I'm happy, it was a good celebration with the supporters and the staff after the game. "The first half we have more control. Second half St Johnstone did well and put pressure on us but we defended well. We didn't get as many shots on goal but it was team effort, how we protected each other and fought all the way to the end for the three points. "Football is not always easy but you have to respect the opponents. We can improve some parts, when we get the ball. The transition was good today. Maybe we need to break the momentum sometimes. " "We talk about a long term process. We have to grow but we need everyone in the support, in both good and tough times. "It was loud, we had energy from everyone. I'm looking forward to Pittodrie in the league, it's an amazing atmosphere there. " © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.