A couple of milestones to note. Adam Rooney made his 100th start for the Dons last Friday at Firhill. Also the next time Peter Pawlett takes to the field, he will be making his 200th appearance in an Aberdeen shirt.

Peter spoke to the RedMatchday recently and looked back on his first 199 games.

“I had an inkling that I was getting close to 200 games. It’s a great honour to have played that many games for this club as I’m told that throughout the history of Aberdeen FC, only 70 or so players have reached that milestone”.

Peter made his Aberdeen debut in February 2009, coming on as a substitute in a 5–0 Scottish Cup victory over East Fife. The midfielder made his SPL debut for Aberdeen as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat to Celtic on 2 May 2009, and made his first league start in a 2–1 loss to Rangers two weeks later.

“I first came on that season in the Scottish Cup game against East Fife when we won 5-0. Jimmy Calderwood handed me my debut that night and then my first start at Ibrox. I remember that game quite well. We got beaten 2-1 but played very well, Michael Paton scored. I had a shot in the first five minutes and Neilly (Neil Alexander) was in goal and he saved it. I was raging!”

For the record the Aberdeen line up that afternoon was Langfield, Vidal (Maguire 83), Mair, Severin, Mulgrew, Pawlett (Duff 58), Kerr, McDonald, Foster, Aluko, Miller (Paton 64). Subs Not Used: Bossu, Stewart, Clark, Ross.

“If I had to pick a favourite game, it’s probably the 2-1 win away to Celtic in the Scottish Cup. I enjoyed that day and, obviously, scoring the winning goal was a special moment. Unfortunately, we got beaten by St Johnstone in the semi-finals and that was a huge disappointment at the time.

“The games when you score, you always remember them, but there are a few other games that always spring to mind. I remember the Partick Thistle (November 2013) game on a Monday night at Pittodrie when Michael Hector scored a screamer from 20 yards. I really enjoyed that game, we were outstanding that night.

“The following month, I enjoyed the first half of the 4-3 game at Inverness up there, not the second half! We were 4-0 up at half-time and played some incredible football but at the end, we were hanging on for the win. It was certainly one of the more remarkable games I have played in. Again, I scored in that game and scoring at Tannadice in the last minute was a great moment in January 2014. When I was a young Aberdeen supporter, I always remember going to games at Tannadice, so to score in front of the Aberdeen fans, and especially a last minute winner, that was special.  

“Rijeka away last year in Europe was a special night. I think most people would accept it was one of our best performances. The way the game started, they were so much on top of us, we thought at that stage it was going to be a long night. I had a goal chopped off for offside in the first half so to score the header in the second half was great and that helped us on our way to the 3-0 victory. I will never forget their fans clapping us off at the end.

“Aberdeen Football Club is all that I know. Ok, I had a little spell on loan at St Johnstone in 2012, but this club has been my life. Apart from Andy and Ryan, I am now the longest serving player. I was seven or eight years old when I joined and have been part of the club ever since.

“As with all players, during your career you have your ups and downs. You know how quickly football can change. You can go from the hero to the villain in a very short space of time. But that makes you a stronger person. You learn from those experiences. It also makes you appreciate the good times a bit more.  

“Naturally I am frustrated not playing as much as I would have liked this season, every player wants to play. But you have to get your head down and work as hard as you can. And then be prepared to take your chance when it comes along. During my time in the game, I have learnt you need a bit of luck sometimes, for example to get a goal out of nothing. I could do with the opportunity to play three or four games in a row and hopefully that will come for me at some point during the season. We all know it is going to be a very long season and everyone in the squad will have a part to play at some point.

“The ups and downs of football, there is no other profession like it. We went from the highs of winning the semi-final and being six games unbeaten to the frustrations of losing two games, so it was important we got back to winning ways on Friday.”

Peter has had a few injury lay-offs to deal with but it doesn’t take much thinking to work out which was worst. Whilst in the form of his career he picked up an injury and cruelly missed out on the 2014 League Cup final. It has certainly made him determined to make this year’s one.

“The lowest point of my career was missing the League Cup final. I was injured at Pittodrie in a game against St Johnstone. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, I didn’t think it was that bad, but then the scan showed a tear. It was touch and go whether I would make it. I was so close. The team went away for a few days to St Andrews and I trained and it did not feel 100%, but I thought I would be ok if I rested it for a few days. I then trained at Pittodrie on the Thursday. I was running about and I was in pain. I tried to keep going, but the manager pulled me aside as he could see I was not right. I knew at that point I was not going to play. I was in tears. It was heart-breaking. So this time, whether I am on the bench or in the starting XI, I just want to be there!

“As a player, these are the games you want to be involved in. Even the semi-final, it was really exciting because it is something different. There is so much hype but that just adds to the occasion. What is important between now and the final is that we get another positive result at Inverness.”