Seasons, especially good ones, are generally defined by goals and by the players that get them, the ones that win big games, secure high league placings, create the moments that linger in the memory. That being so, let’s hope that in a couple of months time, Stevie May will have etched his name into the club’s folklore.

It’s not been the easiest debut season for May, a promising early burst cut short by injury that had a lingering impact as he explains.

“The injury was a stop / start one. I played through it a bit but then it become too sore to play with and I had to give it a rest. It was frustrating, especially because I did not think that it would keep me out. I played the games after I picked it up, games against St Johnstone and Hibs, and I thought the pain was bearable. I thought it would gradually wear off, but then during a training session the pain become too much.

“I got a scan which showed bone bruising so I had to sit things out for a while. Going away to Dubai was a good thing because the warm weather training helped a lot, but then it flared up a bit when we came back. That was to be expected with that type of injury apparently but, touch wood, we are past that now and things are looking all good for the rest of the season.

“The key for me is playing regular games, that is the most important thing but that is the same for most strikers. Just being involved in a team, especially when they are winning, it gives you confidence. I am looking forward to getting back involved more week in week out, something I was not able to do during the winter. Hopefully we can push on and I can play my part.

“As a team we have been churning results out in stages this season. We have had some good results but have had a few bad ones mixed in there as well. We do seem to bounce back after the bad results. It is something that has happened over the years here with this manager. It is a something the team have always done.

“It is all there for us to go at, especially with a Scottish Cup semi-final against Motherwell coming up and plenty to go at in the league. If we keep taking each game as it comes, we can do well.

These next five or six games will be crucial and will define the season.

“Medals are something all players strive towards and I have been fortunate enough to win some trophies. Winning the Scottish Cup with St Johnstone in 2014 was very special. I beat Gary Mackay-Steven that day but I don’t mention it much, just now and again!

“Cup final day is very special, for the team, and probably even more so for the fans. It is a chance for us as players to give then something back. The build up to final at St Johnstone was similar to what it would be in Aberdeen with the lead up to the game and how the whole city gets behind the team. You then realise how big it is for everyone”.

Stevie’s association with Derek McInnes and other members of the Aberdeen coaching staff date back to the earliest days of a career that started at St Johnstone. By modern day standards, he was almost a veteran by the time he began playing for them.

“I was 10 or 11 when I started playing for my boys’ club, Bridge of Earn. There was a coach there who was also a coach at St Johnstone. We were a good team so he took seven of us from the same side into the age level group at St Johnstone and we played for both at the same time. My first age group when I was just a St Johnstone player was U13, maybe a bit later than many kids nowadays.

“I grew up in Perth, so St Johnstone were my local team. I did go along to some of the St Johnstone games with my mates and I also remember going to watch a couple of the Scotland U21 games which took place at McDiarmid Park. Most Saturdays, I would be playing football, but I still grew up with St Johnstone.

“We had a good group of players coming through, a strong U17 side. I also played a few games at U19 level when I was younger. Derek McInnes was the manager of the U19 side at the time. I also had Paul Sheerin coaching me, so I know all the staff here very well! I even worked with Gordon Marshall and Graeme Kirk, so there were a lot of familiar faces when I walked through the door here for the first time!

“I made my debut for St Johnstone in the First Division when I was just 16, an end of season game against Airdrie United. I think it was the last game and we had already sealed promotion. I had it in my head that week that I might get a chance and thankfully, Derek McInnes gave it to me. It is something I will always be grateful to him for. I was only on for about five minutes but I managed to score, and it was Paul Sheerin who provided the assist. Fond memories!

“Paul was a class player. Maybe he wasn’t the greatest mover, but I’m sure he would admit that himself! You still see it now in training and when he plays head tennis at the stadium, her has real quality.

“St Johnstone was a good club with everything built on good foundations, the main one being hard work. That was expected from everybody. We were always well organised and resolute with four or five key players who the team was built around. These guys consistently played well for many seasons and their form fed through to everyone else and brought their levels up.

“Perth was never an easy place to go for teams and when we travelled, we always made ourselves a tough team to beat. We did not concede many goals. That is what the team was based on, defensively we were very strong but we had players who could nick goals. For the first time this season, they are struggling a bit in the league with their form but it is a transitional season for them.

“Going back to my early days there, playing with Steven McLean was really helpful to me. We had a really good partnership. Of all the strikers I have played with, that has been my most successful relationship so far. We got to know each other really well. He works so hard for the team.

“His game was about the amount of running he did and not how fast he could run. His hold up play was definitely his strength and it still is. He has still got a few years in him yet! Steven was strong voice in the dressing room and at that time the team were not short of them. We had a number of similar thinking players and that really helped.

“I had an early spell away from St Johnstone when Paul Hartley took me on loan at Alloa. We had a really good side for the division. Paul built a team with players that he knew and players that knew him. It turned out to a really successful policy and they climbed the divisions really quickly. It was really enjoyable playing there. I maybe played something like 20 games and have some really fond memories of it. No matter what level you are playing at, league titles are hard to come by and it was good to start my career with a league title.

“Paul was a very good manager. He gave me a lot of freedom. He said just go out and play. We did play a lot of nice stuff that season but we had a lot of quality players, many of whom are still playing today. The quality we had is ultimately why we won the league”.
Returning to St Johnstone and ultimately winning the Scottish Cup there, Stevie caught the eye of scouts down south and ended up moving to Sheffield Wednesday ahead of the Championship season of 2014/15. He quickly came to terms with what a brutal, cutthroat environment it is at that level, a league as tough as anything in Europe.

“My spell in England went better than many people think. My first season at Sheffield Wednesday, I scored something like a goal every four starts which in the Championship is not bad. We were a team who did not score a lot of goals anyway, so I felt I did ok. We broke the club clean sheet record but we did not really go all out to win games and we finished mid-table.

“After that, a lot of money came into the club and there was a change of manager. It is a very different club now and there are probably 30 players on really good money. It is a tough league in all respects. We have seen managers sacked down there for going a few games without a win. You have big squads because of the number of games you play.

“I moved on to Preston but I couldn’t really get things going there because of the injury, but these things happen. It is part of football. The experienced I gained in England is only going to benefit me long term. It is not something I regret doing”.

Having endured an enforced lay-off earlier this season, just what does Stevie do when he can get away from it all?

“I like to get the feet up. I get the X-box out now and again and I enjoy going to the cinema and eating out. Away from the stadium, I try and relax as much as possible so I can give it my all when I play. I have a couple of dogs as well so I enjoy walking them. It is a full time job looking after them! Thankfully they are quite like me and are chilled out.

“I am a bit of a basketball fan and watch a bit of that. I am quite a late sleeper, a bit of a night owl, so I will often catch a game before I go to my bed. I am a Cleveland Cavaliers man, that is my team, but I tend to follow players more than teams, so if they are playing, I will watch their games as opposed to teams. There are games on every night so we should not complain about the amount of games we have to play!

“I do watch a lot of football. I watch most of the games that are on at night unless it is a really bad game! I was never a great one for watching my games back though. I prefer to look ahead and focus on the next game.

“But at this club, our games and individual clips are available to us to download. Our analysis guys work really hard to turn all the footage around, even if there are only a couple of days between games. There is so much attention to detail with everything we do at this club to try and give us an edge over our opponents. Watching my own games is not something I have done throughout my career but I have started doing more of it and will do more of it going forward.

“I’m really enjoying being at this club. It was an easy changing room to fit into. I already knew quite a few of the boys but even then it is easy for players to come in and settle. When you are down in England it is a bit different. It is more cliquey. Here, a lot of the boys are a similar age and we have more in common, so I fitted in really well.

“I think there is a lot to look forward to over the next couple of years. There is a lot of quality here. It is about getting it right on the park and we will do that. There are some really good young players coming through. Scott McKenna has committed his future to the club and we have the likes of Michael Devlin who will come in next season. I know how good a player Mikey is from my time on loan at Hamilton.

“The future at this club is very bright and I am looking forward to playing my part”.