From afar, Paul Hartley was confident Jimmy Thelin had the makings of a successful manager in Scottish football. After spending four hours poring over the relationship between Aberdeen and Cove Rangers, he was absolutely convinced.
It hardly took a cunning statistician or a groundbreaking analyst to suspect Thelin was a shrewd appointment after 10 wins in his opening 11 matches in the league this term, but after 15 straight matches without victory and serious questions emerged.
Hartley, though, has been impressed by the Aberdeen manager's ability to remain wholly unflustered by the varying results extremes this term. Make it into a Scottish Cup final by beating Hearts on Saturday, partnered with a storng finish to the season and Thelin would surely be regarded as a success.
"I just think, when they went through the good period at the start of the season, he didn't get too high then through a poor period, still the same, didn't get too low," said Hartley when asked what he likes about Thelin.
"I was with him two weeks ago for dinner. I spent about three or four hours in his company because we've got a couple of young loan players there and we were just talking about the relationship that we have with them.
"He just spoke very well, he was very knowledgeable, knows the game really well. But I just think he's just very calm and assured in how he is.
"I still think he's had a good season so far, and they can top it off by potentially getting to a cup final.
"He had a Brilliant start, an amazing start. But he didn’t get too carried away.
"They’ve had a big turnaround of players, and a lot of players brought in from different countries. It’s not easy to get them settled, to get them gelled, but you can see over the last couple of months that they looked like they were at the start of the season.
"It was a brilliant start, and everybody was excited about the start and whether they could challenge Celtic. I think that's very hard to do, considering the levels, the budgets, and the quality Celtic have.
"I do think if Aberdeen can get that top four, potentially get to a cup final, a bad semi-final here, it would still be a good season under the new manager, then rebuild again for next season."
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Swede Thelin's appointment did face some scrutiny, particularly during the challenging winless period, with question marks over recruiting from outwith Scotland or a manager with alleged limited understanding of the game in this country.
Hartley, though, believes Thelin's distinctly un-Scottish attitude on the touchline and unflinching ability to stay calm is a positive, and he has proven his quality.
"I think he's respected the game," said Hartley. "When I spoke to him, I had a good conversation with him, I think he enjoys Scottish football. I think he enjoys the battles and the intensity, every game is a battle sometimes.
"I think he's definitely respected the game since he's come over here. I really like him, I like speaking to him. I think he's very knowledgeable about the game, very calm, a very calm person.
"You don't ever see him getting too flustered on the touchline, like a Scottish man jumping up and down and pointing the finger and that! He doesn't seem to do that.
"That's just the way he is. I was speaking to him about where his career took off from, where he started and where he's come from. A really interesting career he's definitely had, but I think he's a good manager.
"That's just the sign of a good manager [that he turned it around] and signs of people not panicking, because I think boards panic these days if you get a couple of bad results.
"If the fans turn and turn on the board. They want to change it straight away. But I keep going back to the David Gray situation, they were so patient with him and they believed in him and they believed in the work they did and look at the turnaround he can have."
Paul Hartley was speaking at a Scottish Gas media event. Scottish Gas is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.
