Scott McKenna

The AFC Player of the Year spoke to the RedMatchday editor recently and looked back at his break-through season.

 

Scott McKenna started the season playing for the Aberdeen U20s and made four appearances in the Irn-Bru Cup and SPFL Development League. On September 5th 2017, Scot Gemmill named him in his Scotland U21 side for their game against the Netherlands in the UEFA European Under-21 Championships and later in the qualifying campaign, the central defender went on to captain the young Scots against the Ukraine on November 14th at McDiarmid Park.

By then, the Kirriemuir born youngster had come into the Aberdeen first team against Motherwell on September 24th and since then, he has been a first team regular, making 31 appearances to date and scoring two goals.

The AFC Youth Academy graduate’s dramatic rise continued when he was selected by Alex McLeish for the full Scotland squad in March 2018. He made his full international debut in a 1–0 defeat against Costa Rica on March 23rd and was named man of the match in the game away to Hungary a few days later.

On April 14th, in the absence of Graeme Shinnie, Scott led the team out against Motherwell in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final.

Throw in a nomination for the SPFA Young Player of the Year award too and it’s not been a bad season all told?!

“The season just seemed to keep getting better and better for me. My ambitions at the start of the year were just to try and get into the Aberdeen first team and try to get between five and ten games under my belt. I’ve surpassed that and I’m delighted.

“It is quite surreal what has happened to me this season but to honest, I have not looked back too much. The time for doing that will be at the end of the season, then I will sit down and look back and see how well I have done.

“I was up against four very good players for the SPFA award and it was a massive confidence boost for me being selected in their company. There are a lot of other names who could have been nominated as well so that shows you there are a lot of good young players currently playing in Scotland. That can only be beneficial for the game up here in the seasons ahead”.

Like every ‘overnight success’, plenty of hard work is put in in the background before a player steps into the limelight. That was very much the case with Scott, as he explains.

“I enjoy the physical side of the game and I feel that I can look after myself on a football pitch. I don’t know where that side of my game came from, but I was training with a junior side from a young age. I was in the AFC Youth Academy Dundee centre and I could not get up to train in Aberdeen all the time for three sessions a week, so I would train with Broughty Athletic and Kirrie Thistle. They allowed me to go in so I could get more football. That maybe had a positive effect on me, being 13 or 14 and training with men. I had to use my body in training with them, so I could compete. So maybe that is why it is in my game now.

“When I was playing for the U15s, I came up to Aberdeen to train twice a week and once a week I would train with a junior team in the Dundee area. Before then, I was part of the in the AFC Youth Academy Dundee Centre but it closed down. Coming up to Aberdeen twice a week was quite a big commitment for my family. My mum would take me up one day and my dad the other. Then of course, we had the games on top of that at weekends.

“Then the first time I went to Ayr on loan, I was only 18 and it is was the first real opportunity to play against men. I felt that I did quite well that season in League One. Then during my second spell at Ayr, I struggled a bit and was rightly dropped. I probably learned more from handling that than anything, as some games I was not even on the bench. It made me more determined to work harder.

“Being at Ayr was a really important experience for me in all kinds of ways. I’ve become probably my biggest critic. I watch all my games back to see what I can do better. I am always learning. Losing my place was a reminder of how important it is that, once you get in the team, you don’t let that place go. That’s been my attitude this season and for the most part it has succeeded.

“As well as that, the players at Ayr were part-time. When you saw boys out grafting all day and then having to come in and train at night, that was a real eye opener. Some of them were travelling an hour and a half to get to Ayr at night and then not getting home until midnight. Then they were up at six the next morning to go into work again. That’s dedication and it helped me appreciate the advantages you get with being full-time.

“That need to work hard made a big impression on me and I’ve kept that in mind since, especially once this season started. It has been a big turnaround in the last eight or nine months.

“The season could have been very different. I was meant to go out on loan to Livingston at the end of August. I had been out golfing and I remember getting back and looking at phone. I had 12 or 13 missed calls from my agent. I remember phoning him and he was absolutely fuming with me!

“By the end of the conversation, I was fuming as well because I wanted to go and play football and I didn’t think I would be playing much between then and January. I thought I would be sitting about the stand and playing in the Development League. But things obviously changed pretty quickly after that game at Motherwell.

“When you first break into the team and see the players you are up against, should I really be on the same pitch as them? After a few games, that all goes out the window. I felt after those first few games I had done ok and that gave me the confidence to try and mark players out of the game so they have less of an influence for the opposition and hopefully that helps Aberdeen win.

“Compared with when I first went into the team, I am taking more responsibility now. At first I was looking to others to try and help me through the game, where now, it’s probably the opposite way about. I’m more than confident in my own ability and I will try and help others through the game.

“As a young player, the most important thing is to keep your feet on the ground. I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Hopefully I can keep improving and my game will get better and better. Football is all about looking forward and not looking backwards. I cannot relax, I need to keep working hard so I can kick on. I still have a lot to learn in the game. I want to keep improving.

“Getting so many games under my belt has really helped me do that. Nothing can beat getting games, so when the manager says I am best staying here at Pittodrie, I know he is right. As everyone knows, there was interest in me in January but it was never something I really considered.

“The manager said at the time, and as he has repeated since then, he wants me to play another 100 to 150 games and experience European football, which I might not experience again if I go down south unless you are playing for a top team. You also have a higher chance to get to cup finals and win silverware. If you do get to a cup final, those are the days you remember for the rest of your life”.

Talking of cup finals, that brings us to the only real blot on Scott’s season – that day against Motherwell at Hampden.

“I was absolutely gutted after the semi-final. It was a massive opportunity that we wasted. These opportunities don’t come along too often. I’m still disappointed with the part I played in the second goal which pretty much killed the game off as it allowed them to sit in. The only thing I can do now is try and learn from the experience.

“After the game, I just went home and sat in the flat on my own. The game went through my head all night and I could not sleep. It was a horrible experience and hopefully one I don’t have to repeat too often. When I came in on the Monday morning I tried to put it behind me. I said to myself a few days after the game that I could not have a hangover from it and allow it to affect the rest of my performances for the rest of the season.

“I watched the game again. For the Motherwell second goal I should have swung my right foot through it instead of letting the ball spiral up my left, which caused the problem.

“I have had a lot of plaudits this season and a lot of positive comments so after that defeat, I had to learn to deal with criticism. It was probably the first time people have pointed the finger at me and blamed me directly for a goal. The criticism is fair as I blame myself for letting the team down. But everyone round about me at the club has been brilliant with me all season and everyone told me to get on with it and try and keep my performance levels high for the rest of the season.

“I know you don’t get a medal for finishing second but with the spending power that Celtic have, we do look on second spot as an achievement. We do try and push Celtic as much as we can, but we have to be realistic.

“It has been a good achievement in the past finishing second and even more special this season because of the competition.”

Special is the word to describe most of Scott’s season, not least his full international debut against Costa Rica which at least gave him some happier memories of Hampden to take from this season.

“I was quite relaxed about it and just tried to enjoy the experience the best I could. It was my first ever time playing at Hampden. The closest I had come before was with Ayr United last season. They played Queens Park in the Scottish Cup but I was on the bench.

“It was great to actually get on the park and amazing to do that for Scotland. It is a pretty big pitch! In the first half when I was playing over on the left, you could hear the supporters and feel the atmosphere. I can only imagine playing at a full Hampden would be a very special experience.

“Playing for Scotland was great and being alongside Andy Robertson was a great experience. He really helped me and talked me through the games. To play as well as I did was a big bonus.

“Just joining the squad and maybe getting some game time was my original aim. But after I got a chance on the park from the start, I wanted to stay there and to be selected for the Hungary game too was great. The key thing is for me to stay in the Scotland manager’s thoughts.

“Playing for Alex McLeish is special as an Aberdeen player because he is a legend at the football club and he played in central defence too of course. He was very successful here and someone told me he made his Scotland debut at the same age as me.

“I enjoyed working with him. In between drills, he’ll come over and make a point or say wee things that can help out. Hopefully I can learn a few things off from him.

“I am really looking forward to being part of the Scotland squad that travels away in the summer. These trips are a great learning curve. You have a lot of experienced professionals around you and you can learn so much from them.

“When I made the step up to international level, I felt I did ok. There are players around you and playing against you who are obviously a level above me at the moment but having good players around you does make it easier. You can just give them the ball!”

Scott’s amazing season was rewarded when he was nominated for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award and he also collected the AFC Player of the Year prize, he was at the same time named Young Player of the Year and he also received the AFC Goal of the Season trophy. Despite all that success, there was one prize he was not happy about not picking up….

“I could not believe my strike against Kilmarnock was not on the SPFA shortlist! I was even more shocked when I found out my big mate Michael Devlin was part of the committee who drew up the list. Mikey has actually asked if he can stay in my spare room for a few months, but I will be re-thinking that now!

“It was a great moment for me to pick up the AFC Player of the Year award and I would like to say a massive thanks to all the supporters who voted for me.”