Our new Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel sat down with RedTV at Pittodrie today.

RedTV subscribers are able to watch the interview in full by clicking here.

“It’s great to finally be here. There was a bit of waiting time with the VISA and everything. I was here before looking at the club, getting to know the people earlier on before the decision was made, so it’s great to finally start. It’s a new chapter.

“I’m a football romantic (when asked why he chose to join Aberdeen). Looking back at my youth, I was a big fan of Jim Leighton, I really liked him. I always had Aberdeen somewhere on my radar and having also played against David Beckham, having played against Man United, being very good friends with Phil Neville, I think the Sir Alex connection was always something which is connected to Aberdeen and I think probably everybody you ask about Aberdeen will say that anyway.

“For me also, working for a traditional club, a club with a long history, a club with a lot of achievements in the past, where the expectations are pretty high, it’s something really challenging and I thought that Aberdeen is a great move for me. Also, having a personal connection to Derek Rae, who we worked together a lot on TV. Nearly 10 years ago, he put Aberdeen into my head and I never got it out since then! I’ve probably watched around 100 games in the last maybe 10 or 15 years.

“I’m not a magician, I’m not coming here, clapping my hands and suddenly the goals will come and the wins will come immediately. So my position is very strategic.

“It’s not just the first team that I will oversee. I think player development, really looking into the Academy football, getting the best out of the top talents to create the market, but also get them into the first team is a very big thing. I think Aberdeen have a unique opportunity being up here with a very big area where you can pick players from, where the culture I think can make a big difference.

“I’m also a big community guy. For me, it’s not just the shiny product of the first team which is important, it’s much more than just that. Overall, a Sporting Director is also measured on winning games, winning titles, getting good results. I think that’s something when it comes to transfers, when it comes to transfer windows, when it comes to signing new players, letting players go, it’s important to have a very good relationship with the manager. As an example, if I like a player, but the manager doesn’t like him at all, you know, then the communication needs to be clear.

“There’s no point if one person likes him and you bring the player in because it’s not good for anybody. I think it needs to be a good teamwork to do that together with the manager and the coaching staff. But overall, it’s a very strategic role, looking just not to have a short-term impact, which of course you want to have.

“It’s also the presence, talking to players, being around can have that little impact. But overall for me, the medium term and the long term is much more important. Where are we going to be in one year from now? And where are we going to be in three years from now? I think that’s where I have to look at in the next few weeks and make a plan, have a strategy and move forward.”

Everyone at Aberdeen FC is delighted to welcome Lutz to the North-east.