Peterhead game

“I was pleased with that.

“Clearly Peterhead are a good side. They have come off the back of a good campaign. They have some good players. A lot of experience in their team. The game would not have fazed them and you saw that in the early stages.

“We had to make sure we overcame that first and foremost.

“As the game went on though I felt we went through the gears.

“I thought we were more aggressive with our work.

”I thought our possession was a bit more incisive at times – more so than it was on Saturday.

“There was a bit more penetration, a bit more tempo and more quality as the game went on.

“We are still wanting to take another step forward from tonight’s work, but it was a bit closer to what I was expecting. We can still improve on all of those things, but it was an improvement.

“We created a number of chances.

“We scored two and should have had two or three more.

“The positives were also the clean sheet. Again the new boys getting integrated and also getting a couple of goals tonight. There are also no injuries to report which is pleasing.

“I was pleased with the fitness levels of the players.

“Last Saturday, when you are playing on a training pitch effectively, in front of a handful of supporters, it does feel like an extension of your training. Tonight the supporters came out in numbers to see the team play and that helped the game.

“I am pleased with the players application to get to where we are at the minute.”

Fitness

“We are trying to be fair with the game time but I have also got in my mind eight or nine of the players who will start next Thursday.

“I have to make sure I am looking after those ones – to make sure they have got minutes under their belt. As a player I remember I wanted to start that first game with enough minutes under my belt and I am conscious of that going into such an important game after only three pre-season games. Sometimes you have to be a bit more selfish with some to make sure they have got the minutes.

“Hopefully the team that starts next Thursday will have enough minutes and confidence to take part in the game properly.”

Injury Update

“Young Miko felt his foot in the warmup, took a little knock on it so we decided not to put him on just as a precaution. The same goes for Curtis Main. Curtis reported this morning that he had a bit of tightness in his thigh, so we never took any chances. But he will be fine to train on Friday and be involved in the game at Elgin on Saturday against Inverness.

“We have Bryson, McLennan and McGinn all training tomorrow (Thursday). Niall has surprised us.

“Hopefully if they can come through the next couple of days, the squad will be a lot stronger for Saturday’s game.

“Wilson is also behind everybody with has work but he has come in and bolstered the squad.”

New players

“The supporters this evening would have got a wee flavour of what they are going to get from the new signings. Ash we know from before and it looks like he has slotted straight back in – I thought he was excellent.

“Greg Leigh is quick and has good tenacity. Greg is going to get better as he gets fitter. Hopefully we can get him closer to 90 minutes on Saturday. He is just a bit behind the other boys with his training so are fine tune his training. As you could see tonight he will give us an attacking threat down the left side.

“I thought some of the young lads did well tonight. Dean Campbell, Scott Wright and Ethan Ross in flashes were influential in the game.

“Ryan Hedges, good set up play for the second goal. He will get better and stronger as we go along. Young Jon Gallagher came on and he give you bags of energy and enthusiasm. He is desperate to do well and desperate to impress and I love that about him. He could have scored but at least he got into good areas.

“The squad is getting a bit stronger.”

James Wilson

“I was really pleased to get James in. I have kept in touch with him since the back end of the season. We were hopeful. I think he is a boy, because he is now an Aberdeen player and not a Manchester United player, that we can really grab him and work him and really try and get those performances that he clearly has the potential to produce.

“The fans have seen spells of that, particularly at the end of the season when he was really influential with creating chances and scoring the winning goal at Easter Road. We feel he is someone who because he has found a home, he was keen to come back if a deal could be done, maybe he is a bit more settled that being a Manchester United player who has been here there and everywhere and had to carry that burden of a huge expectation.

“Now we can just work away with him as an Aberdeen player.

“There is a young player there who has had a lot to deal with in his short career but his best years are ahead of him.

“James is a boy we have got to know. There is a confident player in there. There is a lovely footballer, a real technician. He has got speed. He has lovely feet. He has power and accuracy with his shooting when he is really confident.

“We just have to make sure we get him polished off now and get him playing with a smile on his face. We want to get goals into his game. And get him as fit and strong as we possibly can.

“Keep him fit and keep him on the pitch and hopefully that quality will come through in an Aberdeen shirt.

“He has work to do but we will be doing everything we can to try and make him success.”

The Squad

“There has a lot of very good work done by the club to get the squad to where it is at the minute.

“We are pleased with the work we have done.

“The squad was depleted, and we needed to get numbers in. Everyone is making a real effort. The Chairman, Dave Cormack and the Board have been very supportive and have helped us get these signings in.

“I would not say that I am expecting any more players before next Thursday, but we have a few irons in the fire. We have spoken to a few clubs about a few different players.”