What must change to reverse fortunes at Aberdeen?

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin said after defeat by Dundee United he needs to “find answers quickly” to arrest an alarming start to the season.

The club are rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership after four defeats in five games, all without scoring a goal.

Add to that a meek League Cup exit against Motherwell and some fans are already starting to turn against their Scottish Cup-winning manager.

With a re-match with impressive Motherwell at Fir Park up next on Saturday, Thelin needs solutions to fix his ailing side.

Thelin has stuck rigidly to a 4-2-3-1 system since arriving in Scotland last summer, except for one famous exception.

The Swede switched to a 5-3-2 for the Scottish Cup final against Celtic, succesfully stymying Brendan Rodgers’ side before triumphing on penalties.

There has been absolutely no sign Thelin is thinking of going with that formation again, but could it help?

Having another striker to support Kevin Nisbet might spark their stilted attack into life, because they have scored the fewest goals of any side to have played in the Premiership this season and last.

Given Aberdeen’s recruitment of wingers and their importance to Thelin, 4-4-2 might be a more likely option to change it up.

Or even just playing a more traditional 4-3-3 to get more midfielders further forward and reduce the reliance on a number 10.

Former Aberdeen captain Willie Miller, though, feels it is unlikely Thelin will mix things up in that way.

“That [formation] is his identity,” he said on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound.

“What he needs to do, and I think what he will do, is stick with it and try to get the right personnel in there. I don’t tink he has [got the right personnel].

Many observers believe the heart of Aberdeen’s problems are coming from midfield.

Sivert Heltne Nilsen was back in the starting XI to play Dundee United, and is often the focus of supporters’ ire.

He is viewed as Thelin’s key lieutenant, because of his experience and knowledge of the manager’s methods from their time at Elfsborg.

However, with Aberdeen’s performances lacking intensity – a point Thelin has repeatedly made – and the fact they have lost more challenges than any other side since the start of last season, Nilsen’s selection is a point of serious contention.

That is principally due to the 33-year-old’s lack of mobility across the pitch.

Thelin has insisted Nilsen sets standards in training, but whether it is a lack of legs, poor distances between players, or low confidence, Aberdeen’s midfield is toiling.

Thelin has only started both Nilsen and Shinnie in midfield twice this season, but at least one of them has been in the middle of the pitch for every game, except the home defeat by Falkirk.

That performance was arguably Aberdeen’s most encouraging in attack in the league, before Nicky Devlin was sent off and they slipped to defeat.

“I can understand why he’s played Sivert Nilsen in there and why he has played Shinnie in there,” Miller added on Sportsound.

“But they are the wrong side of 30 and it’s looking like they need more energy in that area. I didn’t see an awful lot of energy or creativity.”

The problem for Thelin is, apart from 33-year-old Stuart Armstrong, whom he singled out for praise at Tannadice, others are not exactly putting their hand up and demanding to be picked when they do get a chance.

Dante Polvara has performed better when coming off the bench, while Leighton Clarkson – Aberdeen’s most creative midfielder – was left out altogether and has started two games all season.

Thelin has spoken about the need for “intensity” before just about every game this season, yet when his team take to the pitch there is a distinct lack of it.

The Swede used the words “tense” and “stiff” to describe the 2-0 loss to United.

That is understandable amid fan anger and pressure amid a run of five league wins in 32 games, but that is not the only explanation.

Aberdeen have brought in 24 players in the last three transfer windows and have made more changes to their starting line-up in the Premiership than anyone other than Celtic or Rangers since the start of last season.

It is clear, then, Thelin is still getting to grips with his best team, and as a result there have been no reliable combinations formed all over the pitch.

Only Shinnie and Topi Keskinen have started more than three quarters of Thelin’s league games, while Slobodan Rubezic is the centre-back with the most Premiership starts (20) despite being loaned out in February and subsequently departing.

The team are crying out for consistency and stability across the pitch to ease help settle the tension.

Thelin says he needs to find the solutions that other managers, such as his opposite number on Saturday Jens Berthel Askou, have found in short order.

And with pressure from fans ratcheting up with every defeat, time is against him.