Aberdeen have appointed Jimmy Thelin as their new permanent manager with the Swede set to start at Pittodrie in early June.
The 46-year-old, along with assistants Christer Persson and Emir Bajrami, will leave their current roles at Allsvenskan side IF Elfsborg this summer.
Current interim manager Peter Leven will continue to lead the first-team squad until the end of the campaign.
Leven will then be part of Thelin’s team as an assistant first team coach.
Thelin, who was contracted to Elfsborg until the end of the 2026 Swedish campaign, led the club to a second-placed finish in the Swedish top-flight last season.
Thelin says he is honoured to be Aberdeen’s next manager and has vowed to bring success to Pittodrie.
He said: “I am very honoured to be the new Aberdeen manager and to be coming to this great club and city.
“I wanted to be sure I was making the right step in my career, particularly as this will be my first time managing outside of Sweden.
“At Elfsborg we took a provincial club to compete at the top level and it is our intention to achieve the same at Aberdeen.
“The feeling I have about what I have seen at the club, the staff and the facilities was all very impressive.
“The vision, effort and support offered by Dave (Cormack), Alan (Burrows) and Steven (Gunn) have also convinced me it is a great opportunity for me and the club.
“I can promise the fans we will be striving to build and a develop a team that captures the hearts of the supporters and delivers success on the pitch.
“I’m looking forward to working with Peter and the players and I hope they get the win at Hampden this weekend.”
Aberdeen’s pursuit of Thelin
Thelin impressed when interviewed for the job last year but lost out to Barry Robson for the position.
Aberdeen resurrected their interest when Robson was axed in late January.
Thelin was reluctant to leave Elfsborg at the start of the Swedish season.
Elfsborg have landed Oscar Hiljemark of Danish second tier club Aalborg as replacement for Thelin.
Chairman Cormack insists the club interviewed several top candidates for the post and were willing to be patient to land Thelin.
And he says Elfsborg didn’t make it easy for Aberdeen as they were determined to keep Thelin.
Cormack said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Jimmy to Pittodrie this summer
“The extensive process we ran allowed us to speak with several excellent candidates from both the UK and abroad.
“As the process evolved, we were determined to land Jimmy and were prepared to be patient.
“Elfsborg certainly didn’t make it easy for us, which tells you how highly they think of his six-year tenure.”
Thelin will be given time to build ‘something special’ at Aberdeen
Cormack says he understands it will take Thelin time to build “something special” at Pittodrie and is willing to give him that.
He said: “The board felt that Jimmy’s style and playing philosophy, his ability to continually develop excellent players within a successful player trading model.
“And his experience at taking a team and having them compete at the top end of the table all really matched the criteria we had set out at the start.
“He has a reputation in Sweden as a team builder; someone who will methodically construct a winning side over time.
“From our point of view, we want this appointment to anchor the club for years to come, and to work with Jimmy and his coaching staff to create something special at Aberdeen.
“That will take time, we understand that.
“Everyone at Aberdeen is looking forward to working with Jimmy from June and, at the same time, are very thankful to Peter Leven for agreeing to lead the team until the end of the campaign.
“I would ask the fans to get right behind Peter, and the team, in the remaining matches of the 23/24 campaign.”
Aberdeen finally have their new permanent manager, 76 days after Robson was axed on January 31.
During that period the Pittodrie hotseat has been occupied on an interim basis by Peter Leven (twice) and Neil Warnock who quit after just 33 days.
Now there is clarity for Aberdeen supporters and a new dawn for the club under Thelin.
Elsborg clarify Thelin start date
Elfsborg director Stefan Andreasson revealed Aberdeen’s pursuit of Thelin had been long term.
He also confirmed Thelin will join the Dons on June 3.
Andreasson said: “Aberdeen have shown a serious interest in Jimmy’s services for a long time and we now have an agreement with Aberdeen which means that Jimmy will only join them on June 3.
“The agreement with Aberdeen also includes our assistant coaches Christer Persson and Emir Bajrami.
-“Now we focus on ending Jimmy’s 6.5 years of fantastic time with us in the best possible way.
“Then we will proudly wish Jimmy, Christer and Emir the best of luck in the British Isles and for a challenge that few Swedish coaches have had the opportunity to undertake.”
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