Scottish Cup-winning boss Jimmy Thelin has thanked Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack for his continued support during a crash in form. The Dons suffered a 14-game Premiership winless slump during the winter, but the chairman and Pittodrie board never flinched with their belief in Thelin. That granite-solid faith paid off when Thelin led the Reds to Scottish Cup final glory with a penalty shoot-out win against Celtic at Hampden. A first Scottish Cup triumph for the Dons since 1990 also secured a £5million Uefa Euro cash boost. Due to the silverware success, Aberdeen are guaranteed European group action until at least late December. Thelin’s Dons will enter the Europa League play-offs with the draw made on August 4. There is also the safety net of parachuting into the Conference League should Aberdeen lose the play-off. Cormack’s further investment United States-based Aberdonian businessmen Cormack recently revealed his family have put another £8m into the club. That support will continue. Cormack has vowed to back Thelin with further investment in the summer transfer window to build a squad to balance European and domestic commitments. Thelin said: “Dave Cormack, Alan Burrows (chief executive) and Steven Gunn (director of football) have been so supportive the whole way. “We had their support in some struggling times – the belief never dropped. “We have never changed direction. “It has always been ‘keep working, keep believing’. “There was always calm and focus. “That means so much for a manager and the staff and the players, to know we are all aligned and have a strong belief together. “It was key. “ With Cormack’s backing, Thelin has already began strengthening his squad ahead of a prolonged Euro campaign next season. Summer transfer window signings Highly-rated winger Nicolas Milanovic has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Dons. A fee of around £400,000 was agreed by Aberdeen with Australian A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers. The 23-year-old was named in the Australia senior squad for the first time earlier this month for a training camp. Milanovic will officially move to Pittodrie in the summer on a three-year deal, with the Dons holding an option for a fourth year. Buoyed by silverware, Aberdeen are already well under way with the bid to secure further signings when the summer transfer window opens. Thelin says not only the Pittodrie hierarchy’s continued backing was key on the road to Scottish Cup glory, as the fans were also pivotal. A 20,000-strong Red Army were at Hampden to watch Thelin’s heroes carve their name into club history. And an estimated 100,000 fans lined the streets of the city centre to celebrate the Scottish Cup winners’ open-topped bus homecoming parade. Thelin said: “Even in the tough times, the supporters were there to push us. “We had some streaks where we didn’t win ,but they were still there supporting us. “There were always positive words and they were also pushing. “We had some defeats going into the cup final, but there was so much energy from the fans at Hampden. “It is so important that it’s more than the team. “It has to mean the whole club, the city, everybody “That is why it is so nice to see days like the cup final and what it means for everyone when there has been so much effort given to the club.” Thelin takes a selfie with supporters Amid the jubilant celebrations at Hampden following the cup win, Thelin posed for a selfie with the Aberdeen supporters in the background. A player, normally a goal-scorer or man-of-the-match, has taken a selfie with the fans after every game this season. On Thelin’s selfie, he said: “It was the first time I did it. “It is more about the players. “I try to support them, but I got forced to do that (selfie). “But I enjoyed it. It was nice.”