This 2022/23 campaign is clearly an important one in the history of Aberdeen Football Club as we look to re-establish ourselves back at the top of the Scottish game after the disappointments of last season when we suffered a first bottom half finish since 2013, missing out on European qualification after eight straight seasons of testing ourselves out against sides from all over the continent.

But within any club, there are individual stories too, players for whom a particular season represents a staging post in their careers and their development. Now 22, Jack MacKenzie is facing one of those seasons, for he has reached that point where a player ceases to be viewed as a “young player” and instead has to establish himself simply as a footballer.

After having his pre-season interrupted by injury early on, Jack has made good strides on that front in recent weeks, playing a bigger and bigger part in things for the Dons while simultaneously taking on new responsibilities as Jim Goodwin’s team has exchanged a back four for playing with wing-backs instead. It’s been a real test for Jack, but one that he is looking increasingly at home with.

“The team has changed in the last few weeks, and we’re playing with wing-backs now, so that’s meant I need to up the attacking side of my game. I watch the way Jonny and Hayden train and play, they’ve played in that position for a lot longer than I have, so there’s a lot I can learn from them.

“In training, I’m been working on my crossing, and on taking more risks by drifting past defenders. You know you’ll lose the ball sometimes in doing that, but that’s the job that you have to do, and the only way I will improve is by doing it and working on it.

“If you play out wide and you try something out and it doesn’t work, the crowd is right on top of you out there and they let you know sometimes! But you just have to be brave enough to try these things out and to keep on trying them. When and if it does go wrong, you just have to try it again and stay focused, just concentrate on yourself, rather than any noises in the crowd!

“I do feel that defensively, I’m much better than I am going forward but in the modern game, you do need to add that attacking threat to your game because full-backs and especially wing-backs are expected to contribute at both ends of the pitch.

“I’ve been predominantly a left-back in my career so far, and that goes back to my loan spell with Forfar as well because most of my time was spent defending. Ever since I came through into senior football, I have had to concentrate much more on the defensive side, but having that licence to go forward more if we play with three at the back is a good challenge and an exciting one too.”

Playing at wing-back rather than playing at full-back isn’t simply a question of starting the game a few yards further up the pitch and then getting on with life in the same manner as you normally do. For a start off, it’s a lot more demanding physically and mentally because you need to graft on a lot more attacking intent to the defending that you would normally do as a matter of course as a full-back.

“There is a lot of running at wing-back because you have to get up and down the pitch, so there’s a lot of fitness involved because you’re pressing their full-back but you also have to take care of their winger too. There is a wee bit less defensive responsibility because you’re higher up the pitch and you’ve got that third centre-back to help out, but there is a lot more responsibility in helping the team in an attacking sense.”

Playing at wing-back is a trait that football in this country has excelled in over recent years and as Jack points out, there were some very good role models to look at in that position.

“Scotland have produced some good wing-backs over the last few years and obviously I look at the way Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson have done that job as something to learn from.

“I have studied him in the past, and when Arsenal are on TV and Tierney is playing, I looked at the way he plays the game and that has certainly helped me. He’s very powerful, strong going forward but really good defensively, so he was somebody I watched a lot to learn that side of the game. It’s not something I’ve had chance to use until these last few weeks, but with the way we’ve changed things, it will be important to go back and learn those lessons. In this position, I want to be crossing the ball, creating chances, scoring goals as well.

“My target across the season is to improve, to play games, and that won’t be easy because there’s real competition here with Jonny and Hayden. But I want to improve my game, to add things that they do to the way I play. Jonny is a coach with the young boys now and he’s brilliant at explaining things and giving advice and talking you through the way you need to play the game. Just watching him on a day to day basis, the way he goes about his work, that’s so beneficial for all the young players at the club, not just myself. He’s a great role model, you couldn’t have a better team-mate.

“I need to add to my game an attacking sense and watching how Jonny and Hayden drift forward and assist goals, I need to do more of that. It’s something I’m working on, so to have an assist in the winning goal that Duk scored at Motherwell was a really good feeling.

“Duk has been brilliant for us. When he came, he was behind the rest of the boys in terms of his fitness but he’s worked really hard to get to the right level and the last few weeks, he’s been unbelievable. If he keeps going like this, he’s going to have a hell of a season.

“He can have it to feet, he can go in behind, he can finish, he’s a real handful. He works really well with Bojan too, they’re getting a good understanding, so hopefully that will continue through the season.”

Three wins in a week, over Hearts, Partick Thistle and Motherwell, certainly put a different spin on the Dons’ season after all seemed to be doom and gloom after the heavy defeat at Tannadice. Jack played his part in two of those three wins and doesn’t try to hide just how important it was that the Dons got back to winning ways after the defeat in Dundee.

“The Hearts game especially was a big one after that, playing a really good team who comfortably finished third last season, but we knew that if we took the battle to them at home, we would come out on top. Then things gathered momentum from there that week.

“Our away record isn’t good enough so to win in a tough fixture at Motherwell was encouraging as we look to put that right – but it’s only a start. We needed to bounce back from Dundee United but we had a good week after that, beating Hearts, Partick and then winning at Motherwell. I think that shows the quality and the mentality we have at the club, that we were able to turn things around at that point.”

While it’s important to accumulate as many points as possible at this stage of the season, Jack is wise enough to focus on the bigger picture that lies beyond it.

“We’re not paying much attention to the table at present, it’s just a question of winning as many games and as many points as we can. It’s nice to be in the top three or four because that’s where we’re looking to be come the end of the season, but it’s only November and there’s such a long way to go.

“We need to keep focused, we need to find and maintain that consistency that we’ve had in the past.

“The big plus is that we’ve got goals in the side with Bojan and Duk, we’ve got good options on the bench with Marley and Christian, and that always gives us a chance in games. We’re looking for more clean sheets to add to that but as the manager has said, we’re still a work in progress to some extent. We need to translate that into something more consistent, all across the team.”