The Aberdeen Development squad returned last Thursday and have been training in the city ahead of their pre-season training camp in Spain. The boys will leave on Friday for the Erasmus+ funded trip in Alicante.

afc.co.uk spoke to Paul Sheerin this week about the visit to Spain and a few other topics involving our youngsters at Pittodrie.

 

IRN-BRU Cup Draw

“It is a difficult draw away to Raith Rovers. They are a good side. I know Barry Smith relatively well as I did my A licence with him. It will be very tough, but it will also be a great experience for the boys.

“Stark’s Park is a decent little stadium so the players will enjoy playing there.

“It is similar to last year in the sense that we are playing a full-time club. You hope the players have learned from the Inverness game. I certainly have. I was probably a bit more restrictive with our shape than I would have been in a normal Development League game and therefore potentially we gave the opposition too much respect within the game. We will look at that and see if we can tweak things a little bit.

“Whoever you play in this competition is tough.

“It is always going to be very difficult for any Colts team to get a run in the competition. People were maybe expecting the Colts teams to get to the final or the semi final stage but that is being a bit disrespectful to the part-time clubs because they are littered with season pros. Then of course you also have the full-time Championship clubs in there as well.
As much as we want our team to gain valuable experience by going on a run in the competition, we have to be realistic.

“The main thing is learning each year as you go and trying to improve. It is hard because you are not playing against these team’s week in week out but the fact we are in this cup is good for us, whether we go beyond the first stage or not. It is a big game for us and it is a competition that is competitive.”

 

First week back

“The players this week have done very well.

“I think it fairness times are changing. You see last week the first team players coming back, first day and they were absolutely flying and hopefully the young ones learn from that and pick up on it. Our boys are maybe not quite at that level regards fitness, but I am still really pleased with them. They have looked bright this week and they have all worked really hard. That is all we can ask at this early stage.

“We will get more work into them as the pre-season training programme progresses in Spain. That heat will ask questions of the boys and show exactly where they are physically and mentally.”

 

Spain

“I have been very fortunate since I have been back at the club and in charge of the U20s that we have been able to go on these trips. We have had good trips away to Austria and Portugal and now we get to go to Spain thanks to the funding we get from Erasmus+

“We are very grateful as the trip is so beneficial.

“Aside from training in excellent facilities, it is a great opportunity for players to get to know each other better and that is especially important this year as we have a lot of new faces in the squad.

“The boys are in each other’s pockets for two weeks and they get to know each other’s personalities really well. I get to know the boys and get a better understanding of them. You learn who the characters are and who are the ones who maybe need a bit more reassuring. That helps me when it comes to managing the boys over the course of the season.

“So from everyone’s point of view it is really worthwhile getting that two week space with them.

“We have a few games lined up in Spain. One of those games will be against Southend United and we will also be playing another English side over there. It will be the Southend first team so it will be a huge ask. Both English sides will just want a game so they can give their boys a run out which is fine for us. It will be a great experience to play against players at that level. It is a great opportunity. There is also an opportunity to possibly take another game as a number of teams are training in the area.”

 

Youth Academy Players

“We are fortunate with the link between the U17s, changing to 18s this year, and the Development squad. We have Scott Anderson and also Barry Robson there who are able to make the transition a lot easier.

“By January and February, we try and get a couple of them in if they have done well enough. There were a few spaces in the squad in the second half of the season which allowed us to promote a couple of the Youth Academy players. So we are well aware of what is coming up from below more often than not.

“I am looking forward to getting to know all the new recruits a bit better in Spain.”

 

Building on last season

“Two seasons ago was tough. It was a tough dressing room and I take responsibility for bringing certain players into the club. After that we made a conscious effort to bring in more Academy players who know the football club, understand the discipline that is needed, know what we expect of them and the standards that are needed to be an AFC player.

“From time to time though we will need to bring in players from outside the club to cover certain playing positions.

“Last season was very different. We just fell short a little bit in the league and then in the cup final but it was still a good campaign. Hopefully we can build on that now and keep the conveyor belt of players coming through from the Academy and hopefully get them out onto the Pittodrie pitch one day because that is the ultimate aim.”

 

The new format

“I was brought up on reserve football.

“As a youngster at Southampton I played against players such as Ruud Gullit, Georgi Kinkladze, Ilie Dumitrescu and Dan Petrescu. So you can come up against top professionals like that in reserve football.

“The initial thought process is to get the bracket of younger ones playing in amongst more experienced players. So hopefully a good number of the boys in the Development squad will get involved.”

Example 1

“Scott McKenna started last season playing in the IRN-BRU cup against St Johnstone U20s and finished it by captaining Scotland against Mexico. I don’t think that will happen every year! Scott is very special, but he is still one that we will constantly harp on about to the players in the away dressing room.

“Scott is a proper professional. Since I have come into the club, and I said this time and time again, he was unbelievable for me, not just on the pitch but the way he conducts himself off it. He has all the right attributes in terms of as a player and he also has a brilliant attitude. The respect he has for his team mates and for everyone at the club is a great example for the young boys to follow.

“He was a player we all really wanted to do well, and I hope he continues to do that.”

 

Example 2

“Dean Campbell, his performance at Celtic Park, his calmness, that was Dean all over. That is exactly what type of player he is. It spoke volumes that as soon as he came into the club that I made him my captain last season. I knew that he would be the right type around the club and in the dressing room. He has a similar mentality to Scott McKenna. Hopefully he will be one of many that will keep pushing on.”

 

On the fringes

“There are a number of players who have done very well at U20 level over the past few seasons but maybe have not quite made the breakthrough to the first team squad yet.

“It is difficult to play regularly for the Aberdeen first team. It is a very good squad and then you have players of the quality of Gleeson and Forrester coming into the club. You certainly hope that they keep pushing and keep making the management team notice that they are doing well.

“Sometimes young players can get a bit impatient. They want everything now. Especially if they get a little taste of the first team squad. What they must have is the right mentality. They need to be mentally strong enough to know that their chance will come around again.”

 

Loans

“We will look at putting players out on loan this season, probably more boys than have gone in the past. They need to get out and play in the lower divisions.

“They need to experience what it is like to play in games where you must win.

“It is important for them to experience what it is like to play in games where people’s livelihoods to a certain degree are affected as they need win bonuses. I know from having played at that level people are reliant on these bonuses at times.

“It helps make them more streetwise and hopefully they see what the game is like at that level. It should give them the desire to try and make it as a full-time footballer. I think it is a really good breeding ground for them.”

 

We will have details of the squad that is travelling to Spain later and also regular updates from the trip.