The manager revealed Adam Rooney had been set a target of reaching double figures in the final 18 games of the season. Needless to say Adam dually delivered with goal number 10 coming in injury time at Dens.
The AFC Player of the Year spoke to RedTV after the game.
“I would not say that it was a bet as I will not be getting anything for it. I would just call it pressure! A few months back he asked me to get another 10 and I did not think too much about it, I have not really set myself targets but it was nice when he reminded me after the game.
“My goal was another great finish from about a yard out! Another of my famous tap-ins! A lot of them seen to have fallen for me inside the six yard box recently. It was good to again be in the right place at the right time so we could nick a point in the end.
“The main thing against Dundee was that we wanted to put on a performance after the disappointment of the Celtic game last week. I think we started the game quite well but we just could not get the goal. Their keeper made a couple of great saves and then we have made a mistake at the back. It was nice to get a point at the death for the number of fans we had.
“I have to let you know that Scott Brown did not get a touch so he can’t claim as assist! He was nowhere near it! He is still claiming it mind you! It was actually big Ash who touched it into my path and it fell kindly for me. Scott certainly caused some confusion though.
“Over the past 12-18 months we have shown that we can come from a goal behind. We have scored a number of goals late on to get a draw or a win. We have shown on plenty of occasions this season the character we have in the squad. Even on Saturday in a game where there was not a whole lot riding on the outcome we wanted to make sure we did not lose.”
A number of records were broken again on Saturday highlighting just how fantastic a season it has been. Aberdeen beat the record points total for a side outside the Old Firm. Adam also hit goal number 28 for the season which equals Duncan Shearer’s number of goals in season 1992/93 – the highest total last reached by an Aberdeen player. The last player to hit 30 goals in a season was Joe Harper in the 70s.
“It was nice to get the points record as well. We have set ourselves quite a number of new targets. We have had a lot of clean sheets, we went a lot of minutes without conceding and we also scored more goals. I am not sure if I will reach 30 goals for the season but I happy with my tally and more importantly happy with how the team has done. That is the most important thing. Everything is very positive.
Finally Adam was asked about his Ireland call up by boss Martin O'Neill for the vital European Championship qualifier v Scotland. The 27-year-old striker has previously been capped at Under-17 and U21 level for Ireland but has still to win a full international cap.
“The call up to the Ireland squad last week was nice for the confidence. It was a nice surprise also. We had a team golf day and then 45 texts came through at once from home so that is how I found out.”
“The call up to the Ireland squad last week was nice for the confidence. It was a nice surprise also. We had a team golf day and then 45 texts came through at once from home so that is how I found out.”
