Aberdeen’s ability to win ugly draws a parallel with Dons teams who were able to sustain title challenges throughout the 1990s, says Pittodrie great Eoin Jess.

Jimmy Thelin’s men remain level on points with leaders Celtic at the top of the Premiership table after 11 games.

And throughout their early campaign, the Dons have shown they can respond to adversity and win without playing at their highest level.

Aberdeen legend Jess, who finished second in the league on several occasions during his time at Pittodrie, sees similarities with the teams he ran closely with.

“Sometimes they didn’t perform well but got results,” he said. “That’s the sign of a good team. That’s what we did back then.

“You can see the confidence; good results breed confidence. And you can see they’re playing for each other, which is great and refreshing to watch.”

Despite suffering a crushing six-goal defeat to Celtic in the League Cup semi-final, Jess sees no reason why Thelin’s side can’t mount a season-long challenge in the Premiership after responding with a 4-1 victory over Dundee.

“Who knows if they can maintain their title ambition… but they bounced back with a very good performance (against Dundee), so I don’t see why not,” he added.

“It’s obviously going to be difficult, but we seem to be moving in the right direction, which is good for the club.”