The Aberdeen Development squad are currently in Alicante, Spain on an Erasmus+ funded pre-season trip. We caught up with coach Paul Sheerin to get a review of the first week. His side played their first pre-season game, beating the Spanish Soccer Smart Academy 6-0.

“The trip so far has been very good.

“The facilities are ideal. The pitch we train on each day is excellent. They really look after it. It is exclusive for us to use which is good. When we are not using it, they then get a chance to water it.

“The training pitches back home at the moment are very dry and hard, not ideal. So we have been able to do more work over here.

“So far, the players have done double sessions each day. Friday afternoon the first down time the players have had.

“The weather has good. Probably a bit hotter than we would have liked but have helped increase the levels of base fitness.

“Almost all the players have done all the sessions. Jack Chesser is the only one who has a slight injury. He has a calf strain. He missed the game but hopefully he will be back training on Saturday.

“The food has been very varied so we have been well looked after. We have a few activities lined up in the second week to break up the trip a bit.

“We played the Soccer Smart Academy on Thursday night and it was a very good work out.

“With the greatest of respect, it was a game we probably should be winning, but that was not a bad thing for our first game. It allows the boys to work more on their fitness and work on their shape, get a bit of work done with that. To get a few goals was good as well for the confidence. David Dangana got two, Sean Linden got one, Conor Power got one, Ethan Ross another and Kieran Shanks was also on the score sheet. So the goals were shared out.

“It is early days but the performance was really pleasing. We split the squad up a bit, four of the boys played a bit longer but no one played longer than 60-70 minutes so it was fine from that point of view, to get everyone some game time.

“We managed to create a really good team spirit last season, so we want that to continue and this trip will help us achieve that aim. Almost all the new boys played together in the Academy, so they will continue the team ethic that we had last year.

“There is quite a wide age gap in this group with a few 16 year olds and then you have Sam Roscoe and David Dangana who are 21. They are both very good role models and were good at helping and talking the younger players through the game.

“We play Southend United on Wednesday night. It will be a huge challenge as it will be their first team. We are really young at the minute because we are missing the likes of Dean Campbell, Bruce Anderson, Frank Ross, Ryan Harrington, Seb Ross.

“So the next game will a completely different. It will be a good challenge. It will be good to get them involved in that.

“Anton Ferdinand for example is one of the Southend players. So it will be good to play against that level of experience.

“Something to focus on and look forward for everyone during the second week.”