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Conferring sporting immortality upon a manager has never precluded directors from drop-kicking them out of the front door when it suits them.
At Aberdeen, they once jettisoned Willie Miller from the hot seat on the back of two second-place finishes in the league. Times and faces have changed, but football still has precious little room for sentiment.
While Jimmy Thelin still retains the faith of the current hierarchy at Pittodrie, only a fool would believe this to be unconditional.
In delivering the club’s first Scottish Cup in 35 years, the Swede bought himself some time and understanding. He’s been backed to the hilt again this summer by his paymasters, signing 13 players. This should not be confused with being handed a free pass.
Take that golden day at Hampden out of the equation and it’s hard to imagine that Thelin would still be in situ, preaching about the need for better on-field combinations and the importance of patience from the stands as his new players bed in.
This time last year, his team could do no wrong. At this juncture, they’d won 10 straight matches in the Premiership and the Premier Sports Cup. They’d win another three on the spin, come back from two goals down at Parkhead to get a draw, then win two more.
It was extraordinary stuff. On course to claim 106 points at one stage, there was talk of a genuine title challenge, certainly of splitting the Old Firm. Then came the almighty crash.
Having bounced back from a 6-0 loss to Celtic in the semi-final by defeating Dundee, the Dons seemed to have immediately reset. So much for that.
Jimmy Thelin celebrates his Scottish Cup triumph with Aberdeen at Hampden
Thelin's team have struggled in the league this season and are rooted to the bottom of table
Thelin's Aberdeen team just doesn't seem to have a cutting edge right now
They then went a dozen games in all competitions without tasting victory. It finally came at Elgin on January 18 in what proved to be the first step on that road to Scottish Cup glory.
But while Thelin’s side turned up in each subsequent round of the competition, their league form was awful. They won just one game after the split to eventually finish fifth. That wasn’t lost on anyone even when they defeated Celtic on penalties.
The hope among supporters that the most memorable day in a generation would see a corner turned hasn’t yet materialised.
One point from four Premiership games has Thelin’s side rooted to the bottom of the table. They’ve now won just five from 31. St Johnstone were victorious nine times in 38 matches last year and were still relegated.
While the Swede’s beaming face will adorn Pittodrie’s interior walls for years to come, right now, the outlook is bleak.
Although the performance in last weekend’s draw with Livingston was decent, old failings were evident; The team doesn’t have a cutting edge. It managed just two shots on target against the Almondvale side, with just four coming in the previous loss to Falkirk.
Lacking both a killer pass and a killer instinct, Thelin hasn’t celebrated a goal in the league to date.
It’s hard not to sympathise with the view that he’s too cautious for his own good – certainly at home.
The Swede seems to be too cautious for his own good - certainly in games at Pittodrie
He played two holders in both of those losses. Dante Polvara, the powerful attack-minded American midfielder, did start against the Bairns yet, oddly, has largely been on the periphery this term.
Thelin seems wedded to a 4-2-3-1. It’s plainly not getting the best out of a squad that’s not short on talent.
After a remarkable last day of the transfer window, he now also has Jesper Karlsson, Stuart Armstrong and Kevin Nisbet at his disposal. Marco Lazetic, another striker, arrived earlier from AC Milan.
Most Premiership managers would walk over hot coals for those attacking options. Thelin must quickly find a formula to ensure they translate into goals.
He’s going to struggle to sell the line about his team being a work in progress if Motherwell leave Pittodrie having advanced to the semi-finals.
Because while Jens Berthel Askou has yet to win a league game (not since 1975-76 has a top-flight side drawn their opening five matches) supporters of the Fir Park club are enthralled with the impact he’s made.
Only appointed as Michael Wimmer’s replacement on June 12, the Dane isn’t the first manager to alight in these parts and talk about playing a dynamic, aggressive, front-foot band of football. But he’s one of the few to have delivered it in such a short pace of time.
Last weekend, Berthel Askou’s side went to Dundee and enjoyed 66 per cent possession while fashioning 18 attempts on goal.
Emmanuel Longelo has been one of the signings of the season since moving up from Birmingham. Tawanda Maswanhise, who scored his seventh of the season on Tayside, is thriving in the right-sided attacking role where he’s being deployed.
While the team are a long way from being the finished article (they threw away two points after being three goals up at Tynecastle) there’s a universal buy-in from players and supporters.
It just feels like the start of something special. There’s been a late surge in season ticket sales and over 1,000 visiting fans will make the trip to the Granite City. They hope to see their team win. They know for certain that they’ll be entertained.
If Berthel Askou can get Motherwell firing in such a time frame with such limited resources, there’s no excuse for Thelin’s side to be propping up the table.
There’s a little history at play here. Berthel Askou was the manager of IFK Gothenburg between June 2023 and June 2024 when Thelin was in charge of Elfsborg.
The Dane then moved to become assistant manager at Sparta Prague, fulfilled the same role in his homeland with FC Copenhagen before Motherwell took a chance on him.
The Swede got the upper hand in their two encounters in the Allsvenskan – drawing at home and winning away – results which helped take his side within a hair’s breadth of winning the title.
It was that painful near miss (Malmo won the league on goal difference) and his record of year-on-year improvement in the city of Boras which first brought him to Aberdeen’s attention.
Notwithstanding that day in the sun back in May, 16 months after moving to Scotland, they’re still waiting for history to repeat itself.
