Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven has called for a “fire and ice” approach from the players in their bid to keep the club in the Scottish Premiership.
The Dons secured their first league win 12 matches with a 1-0 win at Motherwell on Saturday.
The victory proved crucial in maintaining the three-point lead on 11th-placed Ross County in the fight to avoid the play-off position near the bottom of the division.
With the two sides set to meet at Pittodrie after the international break on March 30, Leven, who is in charge while the club conducts interviews for a new manager, believes a combination of calm heads and fire in the bellies is required.
He said: “We still need that fighting spirit to win tackles and headers but when we have the ball you have to be cool and collected.
“The best players transition from that. I call it fire and ice.
“When we don’t have the ball we are pressing and being aggressive but when we have the ball can we be ice cold?”
Leven following former manager’s advice
Leven has not been shy to consult former managers for advice including former Champions League winning manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Leven played under the Italian at MK Dons and still utilises one valuable piece of advice from Di Matteo today.
He said: “I speak to a few managers but I won’t name them along with a few experienced bosses and first-team coaches that I know quite well.
“A lot of people have reached out to me in general. I have that network if I need to pick the phone up to anybody.
“I still speak to Di Matteo. He was one of the managers I learned so much about as a player.
“I was quite angry and aggressive. He always told me to relax because when you get angry then your brain gets confused.
“When you are relaxed in the mind then you aren’t as intense although you still need to have the aggression in the heart to have a clear mind.
“That was something I learned from Di Matteo.”
Dons must build on Fir Park win
The approach Leven wanted was evident in the weekend victory at Fir Park and the interim boss believes a similar blueprint will be needed in the remaining matches in the campaign.
He said: “It’s really important we take confidence from the result. I always know if we keep a clean sheet we will score.
“It was a huge win and I thought the boys performed really well.
“Everyone wanted the ball, they were all on the same page and times they played really well.
“Our midfield in particular was really good but to be fair the backline and Kelle Roos keeping a clean sheet was huge too.
“Motherwell put us under pressure and we stood up to the test. Everyone who came on did their bit.”
‘It’s all about what we do’
More clean sheets like the one at Fir Park, the club’s first in the league since the 3-0 win at Ross County on January 2, will be pivotal in Aberdeen’s bid to climb the division.
Leven has been involved in the struggle near the bottom of the table previously, having been Lee McCulloch’s assistant at Kilmarnock in 2017 at Kilmarnock.
The interim boss insists keeping the focus on their own results rather than events elsewhere is what the mindset at Pittodrie has to be.
He said: “It’s all about what we do, I’ve said that since we came in.
“We need to win every game. That’s the expectation from me and the supporters; it’s not about anybody else.
“I am not being disrespectful to that Kilmarnock team but this Aberdeen team is better than that.
“It is just finding that balance of making sure we don’t go crazy in games.
“We have to remain solid, don’t concede and then get the likes of Junior Hoilett, Jamie McGrath and Bojan Miovski and using their qualities to score goals.”
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