Andrew Considine spoke to the Red Matchday editor recently:

 

For Andrew Considine, this will be his 17th season with the Dons’ first team, 484 games into one of the great Aberdeen careers. It stands as testimony not just to his enduring quality but his impeccable professionalism.

“Since the manager has come in, and we have had Graeme Kirk on board, he has really sorted out our diets, the way you look after yourself off the pitch and I’ve really benefitted from that. It does prolong your career if you look after yourself, watch what you put in your body and look to stay at peak fitness. It all helps you get about the pitch.

“It is massive in any sport, to really look after yourself. I am now 32, so more than ever, I need to look after myself and make sure I am getting plenty of rest which is not easy with two kids at home! Each training session is high intensity, so you have to manage yourself away from football to make sure you are right come game day.

‘I still remember my first pre-season. I was with the youth team, with Neil Cooper. It was hard! It was almost like a military pre-season. I also remember what the first team were doing on the top pitch at Balgownie. The runs they were having to do were incredible.

“I remember one pre-season, we were meant to be doing 200 metre runs but they miscalculated the distance! Nobody was making it in time, it was a shambles and players were almost dying! Don’t get me wrong, we still get a lot of running now, but it is tailored to the game of football. There is a much more scientific approach.

“For years, Scottish football was so far behind other countries when it came to sports science, but now every club up and down the country, on the first day, you are getting your body fat test, your jump tests, your strength tests and you finish off with the yoyo test, very much like a bleep test.

You start at level 11 and then it jumps up to 15 and keeps going up. You run up and back and then get a rest of ten seconds. As the levels go up, the pace increases. It is tough.

“That gauges what you have done in the off season because you get a two week programme to do before you come back in. Players very quickly get found out if they have not looked after themselves!

“I know what I expect from myself in pre-season. I have never been a massive fan of running – some guys it comes naturally, but I do not enjoy it – but I just see pre-season as something you have to get through. You give everything you can and you get through it. You are going to be sore, you are going to be tight but you just need to get through it and you get the benefits later. When the games come along, regardless of how many minutes you play, you give it your all. It is all about getting fit and getting ready for the Europe games.

“When we were younger, we were getting seven or eight weeks off. You did not have work to do during the summer. It was so hard to get going again! Now the school of thought is that your body needs two weeks off, you do nothing for two weeks and then you are straight back in. It’s hard to get unfit!”

Andrew has played a lot of European football for the Dons over the years, and this seems like as good a time as any to recall a few of them, starting with Dnipro…

UEFA Cup 20/9/07
Aberdeen 0 – 0 Dnipro

UEFA Cup 4/10/07
Dnipro 1 – 1 Aberdeen

“I remember bits of the first leg, my European debut. I had a chance to score in the home game after about five minutes and I should have. I was about five or six yards out, but the keeper made a good save. I remember more about the away leg which was to this day the most hostile atmosphere I have played in. For a young lad, it was borderline scary.

“They had the running track around the stadium and the stand was a good bit back from the pitch but they still created a pretty scary atmosphere and there were a few scenes after the game.

“I was playing alongside Zander Diamond and it was backs against the wall for 95% of the game. They were a good team and it was very tough. We got the runaround. I think they had three or four players who were in the Ukraine national side.

“They were expected to blow us away but we started well and when Richard Foster delivered that great ball and Daz Mackie got on the end of it, it was an unbelievable feeling. After that, as a team we were solid until they scored around the 70 minute mark. After that, they were shooting from left right and centre. I think they had about 25 shots at goal that night as well as about 80% possession.

“Jamie Langfield pulled off some great saves and every man in a red shirt was outstanding. Credit to every single one of them. We were all exhausted coming off that pitch that night. It was hot as well.

“Nowadays, you need to play eight games to get into the group stages. Back then it was just the one tie that we had but we took advantage of that and it was a fantastic result. No one thought we would get through that one, so it was an amazing feeling at full-time.

“I still remember the team. Langfield in goal. A back four of Michael Hart, Zander, myself and Fozzy. Derek Young and Scott Severin were in midfield, along with Jamie Smith, Chris Clark and Barry Nicholson. Darren Mackie was up front. We played a 4-5-1 and Lee Mair came on for Jamie Smith at half time and I think Steve Lovell came on for Darren later in the second half.

“When you see the team on paper it was a great side we had. The experiences after that in the group stages were incredible.

UEFA Cup 25/10/07
Panathinaikos 3-0 Aberdeen

“I remember going for a walk the morning of the game, Athens is a beautiful place. We trained the night before on the pitch and the heat was stifling. You struggled to breathe. It was a proper old stadium as well.

“They beat us 3-0 on the night. I briefly remember the team talk before the game, the manager said that one of their full-backs, his legs had gone and we should attack this area. We were all a bit surprised when the guy sprinted past Richard Foster, who wasn’t exactly slow, in the first five minutes! It was a tough evening after that! I think we missed a good chance early on but after that they had the majority of possession. Another great experience though.”

 

UEFA Cup 8/11/07
Aberdeen 1–1 Lokomotiv Moscow

“Very different weather conditions! A proper wintry evening in the North-east with the snow dinging down. Zander scored with a header from a corner. They then scored from a corner just before half-time. From what I can remember, it felt like a tight game. We had some good chances but they also hit us on the break a couple of times and Langfield made a some good saves late on. A draw was probably a fair result.

“After that, we went over to Madrid. I was on the bench that game but what an experience just being there. What a stadium and I remember it was huge pitch. They were an outstanding team. The names they had were incredible – Antonio Lopez, Forlan, Luis Garcia, Aguero, Maxi, Pablo. They were able to leave Falcon and Reyes on the bench! To go down 2-0 to a team like that, was not bad going.”

 

UEFA Cup 20/12/07
Aberdeen 4-0 FC Copenhagen

“Another team who were regularly in the Champions League but that night we were really clinical. We probably only had half a dozen chances but took four of them. I think they came here and just expected to brush us aside. They had some good players like Jesper Gronkjaer and were a very good team – but we were too good for them on the night.

“We got in at half-time at 0-0 and felt we were matching them. In the second half Lee Miller’s hold up play was outstanding, something he has done throughout his career. He got us up the pitch and the players fed off that. He really rattled their defenders and bullied their centre-halves. The long ball worked for us on the night. We worked off that and Jamie Smith started the scoring with his volley.

“Lee Miller has had an incredible career. He is a player who has maybe gone under the radar, but the work he did on the pitch for us was immense. A great guy off the pitch as well. He showed his quality that night, as did Jamie Smith. He was such a good player. In training you could not get near him. He was so quick and had a low centre of gravity, could shift the ball with both feet. On his day he was unplayable. He lit Pittodrie up that night”.

 

UEFA Cup 14/2/08
Aberdeen 2-2 Bayern Munich

UEFA Cup 21/2/08
B Munich 5-1 Aberdeen

“By their standards they obviously did not have a great season the year before, the fact they were in the Europa League, because there always seem to be in the Champions League, and getting through to the later stages. It was great to get the chance to play them.

“What an evening that was at Pittodrie. I think we caught them a bit cold in the first half. I remember the pitch was not great and I think they had spray painted it green for the TV!

“Young Josh Walker and Sone Aluko, two fantastic goals. It still annoys me that we did not win the game because they should never have had a penalty in the second half when the referee gave a handball against Alan Maybury.

“Whether 2-1 would have made a difference in the away leg, I don’t know. Probably competing against them over two legs was always going to be a step too far that season, but it would have been nice to win the home game.

“Playing over there, what a stadium. It was probably only built a few seasons before. It must be up there with the best stadiums that I played in. There was a good atmosphere, even although the Aberdeen fans were up in the gods. The dressing rooms were huge! They had a bath the size of our dressing room at Pittodrie! Players were dive bombing into it after the game.

“What an experience though going up against players like Kahn, Sagnol, Lucio, Schweinsteiger, Van Bommel, Kroos, Toni, Klose, Podolski, Lahm. There is a team photo in our kit room that I look at from time to time and it is still incredible to think we were playing against those players.

“I got Poldoski’s shirt that night. Not a bad one. That one along with the other shirts from that campaign are in the house somewhere. I am still waiting for a room in the house to be dedicated to football! I will hopefully get that one day.”

Europa League 24/07/14
FC Groningen 1-2 Aberdeen

“Groningen away was a great night. Another team who completely underestimated us. The home leg was very tight, a scrappy game with neither keeper having a save to make, but again we went away from home and put in a great defensive performance. Jonny Hayes ran riot all evening and they did not know how to deal with him. What a result.”

 

Europa League 16/7/15
Rijeka 0-3 Aberdeen

“That was a special night. They came out and said that no one had won there for years. They had beaten some really good European teams. The biggest turning point in the game was the water break after about 20 minutes. Rijeka had hit the post, they had hit the bar, probably should have been two or three up, but we managed to ride the storm and got to the break.

“The manager just told us to settle down. We did not keep the ball very well, and when it is as warm as it was, you then have to do a lot of running. We were trying to play the ball into the corners but we needed to keep it better. We also started to win the midfield battle and what a difference that made.

“It was an incredible feeling getting my first European goal and that really settled us down. For my goal, the week leading up to the game we had worked a lot on set plays. With the height we had in the team – Ash, Paul Quinn and myself – we thought we could capitalise on a set play. I was lucky enough to get on the end of one.

“There was a new corner routine that we did. We would start on the six yard box – two at the front post and two at the back post – and you would walk out to past the penalty spot, imagine there was a pole there, run round it and come back in. It is hard to mark. I managed to lose my man and I remember seeing the goalkeeper coming flying out for it, about a yard in front of me, but he missed it. For my header I did not get a lot on it but I just tried to make a decent connection and direct the ball to the space that the keeper left. When the ball hit the net it was a feeling you cannot describe – it was a feeling of relief as well after the difficult start!

“Second half we had to ride the storm a little bit but on the break, we looked very dangerous. Peter scored with a great header and then Kenny McLean came on and got the third with another great finish. That goal really kick-started his Aberdeen career.

“One comparison I would make with that team and this one is the pace we have in the side. The arrival of Jon Gallagher has made a difference. He is rapid. Connor is deceptively quick. Scott Wright is full of energy and he is up there with John. Ryan Hedges has pace, as does James Wilson. If we can utilise these guys properly, I think we could get some real success from them this season. It is probably the quickest team we have had over the last couple of years.

“I think there is a quiet confidence about the season ahead. It’s great that we have managed to get boys in so early. I can imagine trying to recruit players is a very hard job but the manager has brought in some real quality and bringing them in early allows us to build relationships with them and gel out on the pitch. I think that really helps and will stand us in good stead for the season ahead. We also have some great young boys coming through, another year older and can step up to the plate if required.

“These current European games are still special to me because football is special to me. My love for the game is what drives me on. I’m lucky that my dad played at a good level and that is where my interest in the game started. It also means that I understand you are a long time retired and to make the most of the opportunities I have and to keep fit and prolong my playing days as much as I can.

“The amount of people who have said to me that you are now 32 and your legs much be going! I tell them I’m still young for a footballer nowadays. If you look after yourself, you can play until you are 36 or 37. I’m contracted here for another couple of years and have no plans whatsoever to hand the boots up. There is still plenty left in the legs. I still feel great.

“The motivation is for the family. My eldest son especially, he is almost five and he knows what is going on. He loves football and when I see his face as I walk off the pitch, that’s what spurs me on. Between my wife and my kids, they are the driving force behind me. They are my number one supporters.

“I’m also lucky to be at such a great club like Aberdeen. You get treated very well here and it is an excellent place to be and a successful place to be.

Over the 17 years that I have been here so far, we have had some great times, some special moments. I want more of them.”