plus the manager

Alan Tate |

“It is a long drive from Swansea! But I am delighted to be here. I have been speaking to the manager over the past couple of weeks and he has been painting a picture of what he wants for the rest of the season from the team and from me personally. He spoke very well. I was on board with his plans from the very start.

“He did not have much of a selling job to do. The team are going well in the League, they are in the semi final of the League Cup and have a big Scottish Cup game coming up against Celtic. There is a good chance the club can get into Europe. The manager also explained the team like to play good football so there was nothing else that needed to be said. All the discussions we had were about football. There was nothing else to discuss.

“I did spoke to John Rankin who is at Dundee United. John and I were together in the Youth team at Manchester United. John spoke very highly of the club and the city.

“At the moment at Swansea I am down the pecking order so the best option was to go out on loan and this opportunity arose. It is an opportunity I intend to make the most of. There were Championship clubs interested in me but I have played in that League before. I wanted to try something different.

“I am no different to any other player. I want to play games. Touchwood, I hope I have a good number of years left in me. I am a player who has never relied heavily on pace so that is not going to affect my game as I get older.

“I have played in every league in England and have been promoted from every league in England so coming to Scotland is a new experience for me. It is a new challenge. I have always gone through my life looking for new challenges. It is something I am looking forward to.

“Aberdeen is similar to Swansea in terms of the fact it is a one city club and a distance away from any other cities. I understand there is a very large fan base out there and if the team keeps improving the fans will get behind the team in even bigger numbers.

“I have been asked what I bring to the team but I don’t like speaking about myself. All I would say is that I have experience and knowhow – I know how to win games. I will let other people judge me.

“I did not know that much about Aberdeen but obviously I was aware of the success the club had during the 1980s and the European success they had under Sir Alex Ferguson. I had come across Willo Flood and Barry Robson when they played for Middlesboro – Willo actually scored a fluke against us in a 1-1 draw! I also played against Scott Vernon when he was youngster at Oldham.

“At the moment I am planning on going back to Swansea at the end of this campaign. There is talk about a testimonial for me at the start of next season but until then I am fully focussed and really looking forward to being an Aberdeen player. I would like to take a medal away with me. I want to play my part in helping the team win a trophy. Winning any major trophy in the county you play in is a great achievement. Hopefully we can do that and qualify for Europe.

RedTV | to watch his conference in full please click here

Derek McInnes |

“Alan will be a great addition during the second half of the season. He is someone who has achieved a lot during his career and I am delighted to get him on board.

“We are very lucky to be getting in such a good experienced player, a very flexible player. He will bring something to our team, there is no doubt about that. Although Alan has achieved a lot in his career but he is still looking for new challenges.

“I said a couple of weeks ago when we announced that Michael was going back to Reading that I was keen to bring in a defender anyway. We have had a couple of injuries and the main part of the season is still ahead of us. We have a lot of big games ahead of us and hopefully lots of big challenges. I don’t think you can have too many experienced players on board in the defensive areas.

“If the Michael Hector situation does change and he is allowed to go back out on loan, this deal (bringing in Alan) does not close the door on Michael returning but we can’t sit about waiting for Reading to make a decision. We have so many important games in January. We have to make sure we are on the front foot when it comes to recruitment and I just felt I had to get another defender into the building. When we heard Alan was available it was something we moved on quickly.

“He is someone who is recognised in England as being a tough campaigner, a no nonsense defender, a leader of men. He is someone I was aware of previously but I never thought we would be able to get him. It is a fantastic deal for us.

“The important thing with any loan deal is the player coming in buys into what you are trying to achieve. I have no doubts he will.

“We are looking at other players and keeping tabs on things, we have to do that as situations can change quickly. A couple of injuries and a couple of bad results and your priorities can change. There are a lot of games in January so it would be wrong to say our dealing in the transfer market are finished totally but we are not anticipating any more moves in the next little while.”

The Manager confirmed Alan will go straight into the squad for the Kilmarnock match on Sunday.

RedTV | to watch the press conference in full please click here

photos | Newsline Scotland