with Peter Pawlett

FINDING MY WAY

Familiarity is a funny thing. Sometimes, as the saying goes, it breeds contempt. On occasion, it brings comfort and allows good things to happen in a friendly environment. More often, it leads to things, people, whatever it is, being taken for granted, becoming a part of the furniture, barely noticed since they have been there so long.

The latter was, perhaps, true of Peter Pawlett. After exploding onto the scene at Pittodrie in a blaze of glory early in his career, we stopped being excited by his talent and just took it as read. Injuries followed, making it hard for him to get a regular place in the side. With the Dons blooding young talent left, right and centre, Peter was suddenly out of the spotlight, underappreciated perhaps at times and in danger of losing his way a little bit.

In such circumstances, a change can be as good as a rest, if we are still busily minting clich?s. So it proved for Pawlett because, having endured a deeply frustrating 2011/12, this season saw him back to his best, and all courtesy of a loan spell in Perth that saw him finding his feet once more and demanding a return to Aberdeen through the quality of his play.

“At the time, before I went on loan, I wanted to play more often. I then did an interview with a journalist whilst I was away with Scotland U21s. It was a strange interview as it was very short, as if he already had written the article. He asked me if I wanted to play more often and I said of course I did! Which professional player would not want to play regularly? The next day, it was in the paper that I wanted to go out on loan! The manager saw the article so we had a chat. He had already been thinking about loaning me and some of the boys out and we agreed that going out on loan would be the best way forward to develop my career. I needed to go and play 10 to 15 games on the trot and I managed to do that at St Johnstone. I enjoyed my time there and that was the main thing, to get games under my belt.

“I have grown up at Pittodrie since I was a young age and have grown up with many of the players who are currently in and around the first team. I have only known one way of doing things. It was good to go away and experience new things, it was a little bit like leaving home, so it was a growing up process really. It was a new experience for me going into a new club and going into a new dressing room with different players. It forced me to come out of myself a bit more so it helped me in that way. All the boys were good to me and I settled in very quickly.

“Obviously, before I went I spoke to the manager there on the phone and he made me feel comfortable. He told me they did not have any wide men and made me feel like I would be an asset. Steve Lomas is a good guy, very enthusiastic and gives you the confidence to go out and play, though he was actually banned from the dugout for most of the time I was there and was always in the stand! He would have to go out 15 minutes before the game and he was not allowed back in until 15 minutes after the game, which was a bit strange. The ban was just because he is full on emotion at games and just wanted his team to do well.

“It was good to play with Steven MacLean again and having him there was helpful. He is a very good guy to play with as he is a very intelligent player. He is doing well there and has just signed a new contract so it is good to see him playing well.

“It was a good experience for me. St Johnstone are a great club with a lot of good people and they are very well run, but it made me appreciate what we have here. There is a big gap between the teams off the pitch. It made me aware of just how big the potential at this club is, especially with the fan base we have.

“There is a lot you take for granted at this club. Everything is done properly. For example take the kit men. At St Johnstone, I had a boot boy who would take my kit away every evening and would wash it at home. I am sure there were things he would rather be doing at night than washing my gear! In the morning, he would ask me if I would like a cup of tea. If I asked one of our young boys to get me a cup of tea in the morning, I think they would smack me! I don’t want people thinking the U20s at Pittodrie don’t have jobs to do, because they do, and the discipline is strong. It’s all relative as I know some of the young boys in England don’t have to do anything.

“Aberdeen Football Club is a special place. There is a real family feel and everyone gets on. There is a real togetherness. I think Craig and Archie have done a great job in bringing stability to the club. They have brought in discipline and changed some things that needed changing. Everything is set up for the new manager. I’ve spoken to a few of the boys who played for Derek McInnes at St Johnstone and they only have good things to say about him. He brought them into the SPL and established them there, the boys there say they enjoyed playing for him and all commented on how good the training was, and the results they got speak for themselves.

“I have been at the club for four years now. I have been through three managers! I have always thought it was a good club and going on loan made me realise just that. Being away gave me the hunger to come back home and succeed here. There is a good squad of players and I am very confident next season we will do well under the new management team”.

Home may be Aberdeen these days, but Peter’s family come from Hull, and he keeps a close eye on goings on at the city’s club, one which now boasts an Aberdonian old boy in its ranks.

“They were in a bit of financial trouble but now they are under new owners, so hopefully things will go well for them. I have spoken to Sone Aluko a few times. He has just had an operation so it out at the moment. I have asked him for a Hull shirt but he has not sent it to me yet!

“They’re inconsistent, they keep winning and then losing, and winning a few more then losing. Notts Forest are on fire at the moment and they’re team with the momentum – they beat Hull last week which I was gutted about! I am not sure how Hull would cope in the EPL if they got up this year, but at least they would get the £60million! Also, when they are in the Premier League they get a lot more exposure and it makes it easier to watch a few games on TV. I hope they can do it”.

Hopes that they can do it apply to Aberdeen too as we go into the last two games before the split. Six points are required, no question, but the situation might have been a little less desperate had it not been for Celtic’s late comeback at Parkhead in our last game. Even now, you can still detect the disbelief in Peter’s voice as he talks about it.

“It was one of the worst feelings I have ever had in football. To say there was a lot of disappointment in the dressing room after the game would be an understatement. It was hard to take, especially as we had a good chance to win at Celtic Park and also take a major step towards getting into the top six. At 3-1 up with 15 minutes to go, we should have won. We knew what was going to happen, we knew they were going to bombard us but we should have been able to hang on. I think because we were trying so hard and were so desperate for the win, that contributed to the way we collapsed. Three of the goals came from set-pieces which is very unlike us as well so it was a massive disappointment.

“The most frustrating thing is recent months is that we are not that far away from being a good side and getting good results on a regular basis. Our performances against Motherwell and Celtic highlight that. But I still believe if we can win our last two games we can make it. If we can get a result against Hearts today, then it would set up a fantastic game at Tannadice. We would take a great support down and it would be like a cup tie with both teams needing the win to try and get into the top six”.

However that pans out, Pawlett’s aim over the rest of the season is to get as much game time as possible and set down a marker for the start of next term. Avoiding injuries is also very much on the agenda.

“I have done interviews before and said that the injuries were behind me, and then I got injured again but I do believe this time they are – touch wood! I worked recently with a sports scientist and got some deep scans on my hamstrings and he gave me some specific exercises to do. I do feel a lot stronger and touch wood I have not had any problems recently”.

What would help Pawlett – and all the players in this country – on that front, would be better pitches. The extended spell of lousy weather this year has messed up surfaces all over the land, forcing the SFA and PFA Scotland to instigate the biggest ever survey of professional players on the future use of artificial surfaces, taking into account the views of over 1,000 registered players. With synthetic pitches light years away from the monstrosities that we first saw in the ’80s, and 3G surfaces now in use in the Champions League as well as the Scottish Football League, perhaps the time has come to embrace that technology and give us better pitches to play better football on.

“We were asked questions as to what we thought about artificial surfaces” says Peter. “We were asked what it felt like at training during the week. From my experiences, the surface at the Aberdeen Sports Village is quite good. It is well documented that players have experienced back and knee problems after playing on the surface on a consistent basis.It is difficult to say what would happen to a professional player in the SPL if they were playing on the surface all the time, what the repercussions would be long term.

“But when you look at the state of the pitches in Scotland at the moment, you do think, would you rather suffer a bit of pain but play on a nice surface? It is a difficult decision. I think the technology is consistently improving and I know you can get surfaces which are half and half – half grass half artificial. I think that is something that needs to be explored in more detail.

“I do find it difficult when I train indoors during the week, then move to play on grass on a Saturday. Maybe if I trained on it regularly and then played on an artificial surface on a Saturday my body will get used to it and I will be fine. I believe when you suffer is when you are moving from one surface to the other.

“I think improving the pitches in Scotland is the biggest issue at the moment. A nice pitch is needed for footballers who want to play football. It is also important for a team like ourselves who want to get the ball down and keep it on the floor. We do not just want to punt it long all the time. Certain teams can cope with the conditions better, the ones who play off a big man.

“But people saw how well we played at Celtic Park on Saturday. During pre-season and at the start of this campaign, we were playing some good stuff but you cannot keep that going over the winter months in this country. You cannot play one touch football. You have to take an extra touch to get the ball under control.

“When I am trying to run at someone and the ball is bobbling about, it is an absolute nightmare. You try to avoid taking people on as you have got no chance. I like to pass the ball but taking players on and beating them is the main part of my game. Going past people is the main threat that I provide”.

Quick wingers doing their job on true surfaces. What’s not to like?