Graeme Shinnie hopes Sivert Heltne Nilsen’s arrival can boost his goal threat at Aberdeen

Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie hopes the presence of new signing Sivert Heltne Nilsen can help him become more of a goal threat.

The 32-year-old midfielder has never been particularly prolific but scored his first start of the new campaign, netting 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup at Queen of the South on Saturday.

Shinnie, who has scored five times since returning to the Dons from Wigan 18 months ago, is looking to become more dangerous in the box and believes having new Norwegian presenter Heltne Nilsen alongside him to hold the fort will it allows the freedom to advance more often.

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“I want to try and add more to my game,” Shinnie told Premier Sports. “Even though I’m getting older now, I still want to try to make it part of my goals.

“Siv’s come in and he’s a bit more defensive so I can go on a bit more knowing he’s going to cover behind me so maybe I can get a few more.”

Saturday’s win at Queens, in which Ester Sokler hit a double, was Jimmy Thelin’s first competitive game in charge.

The Swede had some big calls to make as he dropped Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes for disciplinary reasons after the striker failed to turn up for pre-season training, while talisman Bojan Miovski was left out amid speculation which linked him to the move to Bologna. .

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Shinnie admitted it has been an “intense” summer at Pittodrie as Thelin – who has recruited Dimitar Mitov, Gavin Molloy, Peter Ambrose and Heltne Nilsen – prepares his squad for the campaign ahead.

“With the manager trying to put his own stamp on how he wants to play in such a short space of time before the first competitive game, we had to learn very quickly,” said the midfielder.

“It’s obviously going to take time as we go along, but from the short amount of time we had, the Queens game was a really good scorer to start with.

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“There’s a bit in your mind that knows last year’s league form wasn’t good enough and that’s something we want to rectify this season.

“But it’s a fresh era, a new start, a new season that will bring totally different challenges and it’s one I’m looking forward to.”