Former Scotland goalkeeper Cammy Bell has cited the example of Duk to highlight Jimmy Thelin’s handling of his Aberdeen players, which he believes has been key to the Dons’ success this season.
Aberdeen forward Duk went absent without official leave back in July when the rest of the team reported for training and only returned only in September.
The club took disciplinary action against Duk and the player later apologised.
Thelin has brought Duk back into the fold and the former Benfica man has been involved for Aberdeen.
Citing the example of Duk, Bell highlighted how Thelin has dealt with his players, getting the most out of them when needed and finding success so far.
“I think if you look at this Aberdeen side, talking about managers and Jimmy Thelin, again one player – Duk”, Bell said on Clyde 1’s Superscoreboard.
“So Duk goes AWOL and it would be quite easy to just put him to the side that you would never play for Aberdeen again.
“Obviously, the manager has seen something in him and the way that he has bedded him back in with not too much noise around it.
“He almost just slotted back in after going AWOL for a few months which is incredible. And he is now starting games for Aberdeen because he is so important.
“But again [Shayden] Morris came on, had a real impact. His substitutions are really good. He made them at Celtic Park which changed the game when they were 2-0 down.
“[Topi] Keskinen from Helsinki is a really good signing. He has come in, he is a top player.”
For their semi-final match against Celtic therefore, Bell believes that Aberdeen cannot be written off despite the mighty nature of their opponents.
“So they are a threat, yes Celtic are the favourites but I would definitely not write off this Aberdeen team.”
The winner of the Aberdeen versus Celtic match will meet the winner of the Rangers versus Motherwell match in the final of the Scottish League Cup.
