The Dons have a number of players out on loan this season and we will be catching up with all of them at some point during the campaign, but we start our series by speaking to a youngster who is currently flying high in the Championship…

Nineteen-year-old Ethan Ross, an AFC Youth Academy graduate, who had a loan spell with Dunfermline Athletic earlier this year, has made seven first team appearances in recent seasons and signed a new two-year deal with the Dons in 2019. The attacking midfielder, was a consistent performer for Paul Sheerin’s Reserve side and was named the AFC Development Player of the Year for 2018/19. This term, he joined Championship side Raith Rovers on a season long loan.

“I am really enjoying my time here. All the boys around me have been very supportive and I am relishing the opportunity that I have been given.

“Every game, I feel that I am coming away with something different, and every training session as well. Anything that I can pick up is great and I do feel that I am learning every day. In every game I play, I feel like I am getting stronger and more confident in my play.

“I’m staying in Kirkcaldy. My flat is about five minutes from the ground. I’m staying on my own due to the current situation. I’m 100% concentrating on what is happening on the pitch, and that is a good thing. There is not a lot to do away from the stadium at the moment, I can’t even go to the gym, so all my focus each day is on training and doing the very best I can. I have been really enjoying it and hopefully that has shown with my performances on the pitch.

“I’m enjoying the football the team are playing and I feel that I am playing pretty well.

“I’m chipping in with a few assists and hopefully my first goal is not too far away! I’ve had a few efforts which have come close and the previous Saturday I hit the post against Dunfermline, so I am getting closer! I whipped one to the far post and it hit the woodwork. It would have been nice to score against my former teammates! It will be good to get that monkey off my back and hopefully I will be flying after that.”

Ethan’s Raith side have arguably been the surprise package in the league this season after being promoted back to the second tier last summer. They have had some impressive wins, played some great football and scored a lot of goals along the way. The winger is rather less surprised at their success though.

“People are saying we are doing better than expected, but having played in the Championship last season, coming into that group of boys I could see a lot of potential and was confident we would do well.

“We got off to a very good start with wins against Arbroath at home and then away to Queen of the South. I think it was important to get a couple of wins under our belt and then we had a good result against Dundee, drawing with them, and we got similar results against Dunfermline and then Ayr on Friday night. It was good to see Bruce (Anderson) and Sam (Roscoe)! It is another big game for both teams and a share of the spoils was probably a fair result in the end.

“I feel we can have a very good season because we have got a good team and a good coaching team behind us.

“There are a couple of experienced players in the side in key positions at centre-back, but generally we are quite young. I am 19, there is another 19-year-old in the team, and a few 20 and 21 year olds. We are all playing without fear.

“It is good to have the experienced heads in the side when we are leading and need to defend a bit more! We also have Jamie MacDonald in goal who has had a great career. But all the young boys are just going out and playing. If we score one, we want to score another and another and another.

“The manager (John McGlynn) and his assistant (Paul Smith) have been great with me. There is a lot of attention to detail but the manager also lets me play with a bit of freedom. Coming here, I knew that he was a great coach and someone who is very well respected in the game. I can really see that now after working with him.

“It was always going to be a very competitive season in the Championship, even more so than normal. There are a number of teams who will really feel they can at least make the play-offs. We are just trying to stick with it.

“We are doing well now, we are up at the top end of the table. Dunfermline have made a good start, Hearts will obviously be the team to beat. Ayr will be there or thereabouts, then you have Inverness and Dundee. There are a lot of good teams in the league this year. You can see that with the results so far, everyone is beating each other, so it is very competitive and should be really interesting.”

As with all the loanees from Pittodrie, their progress is being closely monitored back here at the club.

“Paul Sheerin is in regular contact with me. He phones me after most of my games and will watch the footage to see how I am doing. It’s great to still be getting support and advice from him as Paul knows my game very well. I was also back in Aberdeen recently so got a chance to see the manager and Tony Docherty and they were pleased with my progress.

“I was with the first team in pre-season and felt I did quiet well in the games I played. I also came on against Hibs in the final game but then picked up quite a bad back injury which took the wind out of my sails. I was out for a good six or seven weeks. When I got back and had a look at the squad and how strong it was, I felt the best thing was for me to get out and get some game time. I believed Raith was the best option for me and thankfully it has worked out that way.

“As far as Aberdeen in concerned, you just have to do as well as you can when you are out on loan and things will sort themselves out when you go back. All you can do is put in the performances, knowing that people back at the club are watching you. You can only influence what happens at the loan club so there is no point in worrying about anything else at the moment.”