Kevin Stirling this week spoke to former Aberdeen and Kilmarnock player Robert Connor for this week's RedMatchday Magazine

Bobby Connor was certainly a 'late developer' in football terms. Having spent the early part of his career with Ayr United in the First Division it was not until Connor stood out in an international tournament at Pittodrie in 1982 that brought about a move to the Premier League. It was in May 1982 that Pittodrie hosted the 'Four Team International Tournament' a semi-professional set up that included Scotland, England, Holland and Italy. No player from any of the top divisions was eligible to play.

The tournament offered a rare international outing to the more aspiring and perhaps unheralded players. Connor had been the mainstay of the Ayr side that were struggling to get back to the Premier league after falling away from the top division in 1978. Although playing for Ayr, it was their bitter Ayrshire rivals Kilmarnock that Bobby supported. "I was born in Kilmarnock so I always look on them as my team, although I started out with Ayr as a youngster. You had to take whatever opportunities that came along and Ayr were keen to have me." Bobby spent seven years with the Somerset Park club outside of the top league but it was his performances at Pittodrie in 1982 that changed his career path.

"That tournament was never given a lot of exposure but it was a high standard; the English lads were from outside of the Football League while the Dutch and Italian teams were always of a high quality. I remember playing for Scotland up at Pittodrie and it was very pleasing for me personally as I played really well." That brought Bobby to the attention of several clubs and it was Dundee who took Connor into the Premier League in 1984. The Dens Park club were an established Premier League club back then and it was with them that Bobby first came up against Aberdeen;

"The Dons at that time were the team to beat. They had dominated the Old Firm for a while and especially at Pittodrie they looked unbeatable. It was never easy coming up against the likes of Strachan, Simpson and Cooper, but that was where I wanted to be and playing against the Champions was always a test."

It was during his spell with Dundee that Connor received the first of four full caps for Scotland; a remarkable progression for the midfielder who was playing in the First Division with Ayr just three years previously. That exposure attracted the attentions of Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson in 1986. The Dons had been on the lookout for a new midfielder after Neale Cooper joined Aston Villa. The deal to take Connor to Pittodrie amounted to a near £300,000 fee with Ian Angus also moving from Pittodrie to Dens as part of the deal. "Joining Aberdeen was a real highlight as they were one of the top sides in European football back then so it was a huge step up in class." Connor went on to win several domestic cup winners medals with the Dons in a spell that lasted until 1994. "I was allowed to leave the club along with Jim Bett and Alex McLeish in 1994. It seemed a bold move from the club to lose three seasoned internationals in one go, and it was no real surprise to see the Dons struggle immediately after that."

That was certainly borne out as Connor joined his boyhood team Kilmarnock as his career was winding down.

"Kilmarnock had never fared well against the Dons back then but I remember that 1994.95 season well as I was lucky enough to be in the side that actually defeated Aberdeen four times that season, which was remarkable. It was an incredible time and I took no pleasure from seeing my old team struggling at the foot of the league after my final season with them we ended up as runners up in the Premier. It was a huge shock at the time, but they managed to pull away from the bottom eventually. Playing them at Rugby Park was always a challenge as well.

"The old stadium back then was wide open and certainly not as appealing as it is today. It was never an easy place to play and that always seemed to give Kilmarnock a lift. Most teams did not like coming here and Aberdeen were no different. We were also aware that it was the furthest away fixture for the Dons so that was always a factor. The Kilmarnock crowd can be quite noisy on occasion and they were always keen to put one over the Dons as they were seen as a huge scalp back then, in many ways they still are."

"Looking back on my 20 years as a professional footballer, leaving Aberdeen was one of the toughest situations we had to deal with. I say we because my wife Anne and I had a great family life focussed in and around the club.

"Our two girls were born during my eight years at Pittodrie and when the time came to leave it was a huge wrench for us all.I was 34 at the time and felt I could play at the top level for a few more years but there's no doubt if I'd been a few years older and was ready to quit playing we'd have settled permanently in the city.

"On the other hand, I felt very fortunate to be offered the opportunity to finally pull on the blue and white stripes of my home town team Kilmarnock. They had just survived their first season in the Premier League under the guidance of Tommy Burns and there was a lot of excitement and energy around Rugby Park.

"My only regret was that Celtic had just lured Tommy back to his beloved Parkhead and I missed the chance to play under him.He was a terrific football man and a super coach who loved to play the game in the right manner. Nevertheless, my two seasons at Killie were very enjoyable.

"In one of those quirks that happen all too often in football we won all four league games against the Dons in my first season away.I'd left along with Jim Bett and Alex McLeish so there was a bit of a different look to the Aberdeen side then, although it is always a little strange to line up opposite the guys you shared a dressing room with for so long.

"I've always felt that, as with Scottish football in general, the Aberdeen side was in a very gradual decline since Fergie's heyday.Black, Cooper, McGhee, Rougvie, Strachan, Kennedy had all moved on when I arrived in 1986 and others like John McMaster and, the King himself, Frank McDougall would sadly soon retire through injury.

"I was very fortunate to play with a few great, and a lot of very good Aberdeen players and we enjoyed relative success being the main challengers to mega bucks Rangers.Indeed, the quality of the players I'd become used to playing alongside was very apparent to me during my early days at Kilmarnock.

"During Dons games I'd grown to expect team mates to be in certain areas in relation to the build up of play but it just didn't happen at Killie as the players were not as mentally aware. However, Killie had a fantastic team spirit and work ethic which were both fading characteristics around Pittodrie at that time and I'm sure it was those qualities that saw us take all 12 league points from the Dons, the first time they'd suffered that fate in the Premier League.

"Like most people, I have no idea why there has been such a sharp decline in the Dons fortunes over recent years as the set up still dictates that Aberdeen should be the Old Firms main challengers.There's no denying there has been underachievement on a grand scale but the response of the fans has been the shining light.There has been no dramatic fall in attendances which must give those at the helm great encouragement for the future, however, the dearth of young talent means it will remain tough.

"There's no doubt there are very good youngsters like Fyvie and Palwett, just not very many within the Scottish game. It's a huge problem for managers like Mark McGhee who have to work with what is available to them. However, the side have made a positive start which gives them something to build on and it would be great to see a real legend like Mark steer the club back to the top end of the league"

These days Bobby looks after a drainage company in Ayrshire after a two-year spell as manager of his first ever team Ayr United.