A young Dons side are in action on Saturday at Pittodrie when they play Arbroath in the second round of the SPFL Trust Trophy. Barry Robson’s side are made up of players from the U18s as well as development players at the club.

Aberdeen produced an excellent performance in the last round to beat Bora Rangers 1-0 away from home. It will be an even tougher examination this weekend against a side who have started this season well in the Championship, and the Dons youngsters will be without a number of players, who are either out on loan or away on international duty.

One key player who will be involved is Mason Hancock.

The 18-year-old was a member of the first team matchday squad throughout much of July and August, after impressing in pre-season and forcing his way into the manager’s thoughts ahead of the European qualifying games that got the campaign under way. For Mason, it was a case of achieving his first objective.

“It was an amazing experience. When I first came in, I saw that the first competitive game on the fixture list was the BK Häcken game. I set myself goals, so in the back of my head I was thinking, “Can I try and push for that?” When I was in the squad, I was
over the moon and then to be in all the European squads was a great experience.

“Being so closely involved with the first team has such a good learning curve for me. I have developed a lot from being around the likes of Andrew Considine. I was absolutely devasted when Andy got his injury in Baku because he has almost been like a father figure to me. He has been such a big influence and so helpful. He would take me aside and pass on advice but there were other times when I was learning from him, without Andy even realising. He is a such a great person and I hope he’s back playing sooner rather later.

“I didn’t realise he had done some coaching and worked with like of Calvin when he was part of the U16 team that won the Scottish Cup. I think one day he will make a very good coach. Joe Lewis has also been brilliant with me. Being a goalkeeper, he can see a lot of things and again would passes on advice.”

For a youngster, Mason’s journey to Cormack Park was an unconventional one. He’s not one of the local lads, not even one from the central belt. Instead, he’s a Londoner. So how did he come to choose life at Aberdeen, a long way from home?

“I’ve always lived local to where my family are living now, near south London. I grew up in Ashford. I’m a QPR fan. That runs in the family, my dad, his dad and probably a few generations more!

“I started off as a youngster playing for the side my dad ran at U8 level. I only played a season there before going to Fulham. I was in their Academy since the age of seven and went into their school programme when I started secondary school. It was a very good Academy and I travelled Europe every year with them. That was a great experience for me, playing in tournaments on the continent.

“We had a very good side. Amongst the players who have gone on to have professional careers is Harvey Elliot. He is some talent, always has been. They grabbed him from QPR when he was around 13 or 14. He made an instant impact. There are quite a few boys in that team who are still at Fulham or elsewhere and doing well which is good to see.

“Fulham are a very, very good club. It was always a club who produced good youngsters. They do well in the youth age groups and compete with the big teams and big academies like Chelsea and Arsenal. We had a good team and I know the age groups around mine were also very strong.

“I first heard of an interest from Aberdeen when I was 15. The Youth Academy chief scout Jim Fraser was down at a game in Guilford. I remember my dad getting a call one day and hearing an Aberdeen accent! I came up about a month later and trained at the sports village with the boys who would have been my age, the likes of Kevin Hanratty Calvin Ramsay. I didn’t come up then, but the following season, they got me up for a game against Dundee United, a closed doors friendly at St Andrews.

“I did well in the game and even managed to get a goal! I came up again the next week so Barry Robson and Scott Anderson could have a look at me. It must have gone well because the move went through, just before the first lockdown. I literally flew home and then the next day, lockdown! It was very strange.

“Just in terms of trying to get the contract done, it was very challenging. One day, it was happening, the next day, it was up in the air. There was nothing the club could have done, it was tough times for everyone, but it did finally go through. I came up last August to start my season with the U18s, but last year was a weird and unsettling season for anyone in football, especially for young players. We managed to get through it.

“I had to be quite philosophical about it and just accept the situation was one you could not control. The stuff that was happening at this club was happening to every club. Players have lost contracts because of Covid and are struggling to find teams now, so I’m very grateful that I had a contract through that time. But it was it was a tough season for everyone.

“As a youngster, living so far away from home, it is difficult. I didn’t think too much about it at the start, but it was quite tough. I stay with Ryan Duncan and Kieran Ngwenya, who are similar ages with me, and they’re kind of doing the same thing. Kieran’s family is in Edinburgh and Ryan’s are out in Aberdeenshire. I think it would have been a lot harder without them. Like anything, you get used to it and you adjust. You start to enjoy stuff when you get used to it.

“Both of them went into the first team bubble last season and made their debuts. I was so pleased for them. Both impressed, which did not surprise me. I was very happy for them both, it was a great moment for them.

“We did finally get to play some games, competing in a mini U18 league campaign at the end of the season that saw us playing three games a week – Tuesday, Friday, Tuesday – within a three month period. Before that I think I had only taken part in three games all season! It’s hard when you are training every day but have no games to look forward to, so to get those games at the end was really good for us. Despite the crammed fixture list, it was exactly what we needed and helped prepare us for this season.”

As you’ll have gathered from Mason’s response to learning from Andrew Considine, he plies his trade in defence – but that hasn’t always been the case.

“I’ve had spells everywhere! I’ve been chucked up front in a few games. I’ve played centre midfield. There was a time at Fulham where we were trying to find my position and it was looking like it was going to be in centre midfield. I had a short spell at Woking, and I played in the middle of the park there. If anything, it was more of an attacking role. But now I play at centre-back and it is a position that suits me, it’s my strongest one.”

Having made such a strong start to the campaign, what lies ahead for Mason across the rest of this term?

“The aims for the season are simply to try to keep impressing and hopefully one day making my first team debut. That has to be the ambition of every young player at Aberdeen. I’m really happy with the way things are going right now and I have to keep working hard and just keep playing my game.

“There is that sense of belief amongst all the young boys that if we do well and show that we are ready, we will get an opportunity. The manager has shown that he is not scared to do that. At the moment you have two young boys in the team, Jack and Calvin, who are doing an unbelievable job. Both of them are a joy to watch.

“It gives everyone so much encouragement when you see what they have done and the belief we can break through to this team too.”

Finally, to the game this weekend, and Mason accepts it will be a real challenge, but one all the young Dons involved are really looking forward to.

“It is going to be tough, very tough. But it going to be a great experience for us. Especially as the match is at Pittodrie.

“We played Bora Rangers away in the last round and we knew that would be a tough game. We were well beaten in this competition against them a few seasons back. But we went there, and we played our game. And we got the win. Arbroath will obviously be a step up in quality but everyone is really up for it. Again we just have to go out and play our own game.

“My family are coming up for the match, my dad, my sister and my gran are driving up Friday and my mum is flying up Saturday. It’ll be the first time they have been up to watch a game, so it will be a very special occasion for me.”