DONS DEN When you catch sight of Donervorn Daniels in the heat of battle, he looks like a man who might have played 500 games, a powerful individual, tearing up the turf – and opponents. Hard to imagine he’s only 21…
It takes a certain maturity to come to a brand new club, a new league, a new country, make your debut in a cup semifinal, score a goal, take all the plaudits and do all of that inside a week. But that’s how Donervorn Daniels started life at Aberdeen, a club and a city that seems to fit him like a glove.
“I’m a nice, chilled, laidback guy and Aberdeen suits that. I’m enjoying the city. It does not have that hectic lifestyle where you feel you need to blend in or be part of that environment. The city is good and everyone has been welcoming.”
The laidback Daniels can trace his roots to the small Caribbean island of Montserrat, though it’s not a place that he can recall.
“I was born in Montserrat but I don’t remember anything about it to be honest because I left when I was two or three. When I first moved to the UK, we moved around a little bit at the start but then we settled in London. I grew up in East London in Hackney and that is still my home, my mum still lives there. I still go back there from time to time. Living there was good for me because I had to grow up fast. I enjoyed it as every day was an experience and it turned me into a man very quickly!
“That was also where I met Jeffrey Monakana. I know him really well. Jeff is from North London and I also went to school in that area. I knew him through football circles and mutual friends. We then became very close, he’s a very good guy. He told me a lot of good things about the club when the chance came to sign here. That played a big part in coming here, as did the manager.
“At the Albion, Darren Moore is my mentor and I love him to bits. He is a development coach at the club, he works a lot with the under 21s. He has helped me grow and improve as a young player. He will sit down and talk to me man to man. When this move first came about, I went straight to him. He told me Derek McInnes is fantastic because he knew him from the Albion, when Derek was his captain there.
“Darren said, “You will want to play for him, you will want to give everything you have” and that has certainly rung true. Darren got me thinking as I did have a decision to make. I had a few Championship clubs interested in me, so I had to sit down and have a think. I spoke to the AFC Chief Scout, Russ Richardson, who called me and we had a very good conversation. Then the gaffer called me and after speaking to him, my decision was made. He told me his plans for the club and I couldn’t say no. You want someone to put that confidence in you.”
This loan move at Aberdeen is the latest step in what is already a long career in the game for Donervorn, going right the way back to schoolboy football.
“I used to play for Reading as a schoolboy. Before I signed for Reading I used to be an attacking player. I used to be a left winger because I used to cut in and shoot. I was quicker and stronger than most of the lads and had that power. Gradually during my career, I have moved back but I was a central midfielder for a long time. I started to play in central defence when Keith Downing, an ex-coach at WBA, told me that I would have more time and it would allow me to improve my game if I played in defence. It has been the position that has allowed me to grow and improve as an individual. I have also played at right-back, a position I enjoy as I can get forward.
“I signed for Reading and I was with them until I was 16. Albion then made an enquiry and Reading agreed that I could go to The Hawthorns at U16 level and I have been there since. When I was a first year scholar, there was talk of some clubs like Manchester United being interested in me and when you are a young kid and you get linked to clubs, you feel like you have made it. I’m sure a lot of young players can relate to that. But the truth is, you’ve done nothing. Luckily, I have always had good representation from people who can guide me and help me make the right decisions and that decision was to stay at West Brom.
“I owe a lot of credit to the people in my life for standing by my side and supporting me and helping me make those good decisions. Family – my mother has been one of my biggest inspirations, wanting to make her proud has been with me from when I started. My girlfriend, she’s been a blessing, it’s never easy when you have to move from club to club. It can put a lot of strain and pressure on a relationship but she’s handled it. My agent, Leon Anderson who’s been representing me from the age of 14 when you’ve got nothing to play for but for the love and fun of the game, he has believed in me when no one else did. The most important thing in my life is God, without my faith and love for my religion I wouldn’t be the young man I am today.
“Although I have not yet made my senior first team debut, I have learned heaps from the staff and the senior players. I firmly believe I made the right decision to stay at the Albion. I think it is a top club. They have been in the Premiership for a good number of years now and even when they were in the Championship, they were still a good side and managed to sustain a Premiership culture. Right through the Academy system, I can’t fault any member of staff. Even if players have not established themselves in the WBA first team, the majority of them have stayed in the game and got careers in the Championship or League One. You can see that they will still be players in the future.
“Saido Berahino has made his name in the first team now and is scoring a lot of goals, so that says a lot. Then there’s Chris Wood at Leicester, George Thorne is at Derby County, Romaine Sawyers, Paul Downing and Sam Mantom are at Walsall. These are all players who are making a name for themselves and doing very well and hopefully I can do the same in the near future.”
Young players can find life frustrating at the top level in England though, given that clubs have so much money to go out and buy in ready made, experienced talent from all over the world, a situation that will only be exacerbated by the new television deal. As we’ve noted before in these pages, that can act as a block to young talent.
“I can only speak for myself but yes, it is frustrating because this is my fourth loan experience now. Every loan experience has been very beneficial and has its highs and lows. The process is that you go out on loan, you play, hopefully you do well and you go back. The hard thing for me is that I have not had any opportunities when I’ve gone back to the Albion, but as an individual I keep improving and too be honest, I can’t point the finger at West Brom.
“I recognise that my position makes it even harder. As a defender it is very hard. Not many managers are going to play a young player in that position. There are a lot of good centre-halves at Albion like Joleon Lescott, Gareth McAuley, Jonas Olsson, Craig Dawson, so I am happy to come up here to get more experience.
“I think a lot is down to the thinking of the club. If your philosophy is producing young players, giving them the opportunity then it will happen, no matter what the pressures and the need to win. If you look at Southampton, they are a club who have come from League One all the way up to near the top of the Premiership. During that time they have never changed their philosophy. They have changed their manager a few times yes, but they keep producing young player after young player.
“A lot of young players in England are sitting there saying, “Give me an opportunity”. At the end of the day, you will never know if someone can cope or if they can’t without an opportunity being given to them. “I feel my career has developed by going out on loan. My first experience was at Tranmere when I was only 18. I met Ash Taylor there, he was also a young centre half. Ash and I played very well together. We were top of League One. I think I played 14 games for them and it’s an experience I will never forget. It ended on a sour note because West Brom called me back because I was not playing towards the end of the spell, but that was my baptism of fire when I was playing league football. I loved every minute of it. Since then, I’ve just wanted to play, progress and improve.
“I was a bit naïve, thinking I would do back from League One and play in the Premiership. That was when I had to improve as a young man, as a person as much as a player. I had only played 14 games and no matter how well I had done, I could not expect to play first team football in the Premiership.
“But it is difficult going back and playing for the youth or reserve team. Playing league football is very different. The majority of these players who have played in reserve football have all played league football. They have all had that first team experience and they all want that experience but the tempo of the football is slower. The quality is still there but the tempo is not. I did not feel I was being tested mentally or physically.”
The lot of the loan player is particularly tough, knowing they are only there for a short period, yet expected to hit the ground running whereas a new permanent signing is given a bit of grace, given time to come up to speed and settle in.
“It is the hardest thing, having to adapt. My first loan experience taught me so much and I will always refer back to it whenever I am talking about the experiences I have had. I was playing reserve football and then I go and play for a team at the top of League One. I thought it was going to be a walk in the park. First of all I got thrown in and I was up against a striker that wanted to kick every single limb off me. You suddenly think, what am I doing?! Is this what football is? You grow up watching this pretty sport on TV with all the Premiership stars and you think the game looks easy. Then suddenly, boom! It is the hardest thing if you are not mentally strong. I have had to bring these things into my life to allow me to take it in my stride and not allow anything to affect me.
“You are also working for two clubs in a way. I am an Albion player but when I am training, on a Friday night preparing for a game, on a Saturday when I am playing the game, after a match reflecting on the game, I am an Aberdeen player through and through. I am not thinking about what the West Brom score is. I am reflecting what is on my chest and the Aberdeen badge is on my chest on a matchday. All I am thinking about is giving everything I have for Aberdeen.
“All the boys are great and have made it easy for me. I am very easy to get along with. I love banter and the boys have got good banter in the dressing room. One of my closest mates is Jamie Masson. He sits next to me in the dressing room. He is a very good player. All the boys call him ‘Baller’ because of how good he is technically. He has helped me settle in, as have a lot of the lads in the dressing room. I felt welcome from the day I got here. That was good for me. The boys have allowed me to be part of them and you want that when you go to a new club. That can make a big difference with your performances on the park.
“Mental strength, confidence and concentration. Three of the most important things you need as a footballer, particularly as a defender. I have always found it quite interesting that there are a lot of top centre halves but they are all so different. John Terry would be top of the list when it comes to central defenders. Then you have also got Vincent Kompany who would be up there as well as Silva at Paris Saint-Germain. All three players are completely different. John Terry reads the game very well. He understands where he needs to be on a football pitch at any given time, he never allows himself to be isolated as he knows he is not the quickest down the sides. Silva is so quick, he is so mobile, he can recover.
“Football is obviously changing. It always has, but the basics stay the same. As a defender you still need to be able to head and kick the ball to safety when the situation arises. It depends on the team you play for and the manager you play for because he determines how you have to play. A lot of teams want central defenders who can handle the ball, can bring the ball out, can step forward to overload the midfield in your favour. At Aberdeen I like to step forward so the players around me have an extra option.
“Aberdeen keep the ball which suits my style of football. You have to have good concentration as a lot of teams play three up top. It is therefore me and my centre-half partner up against one. You need to have good concentration, that is key especially when we are dominating the ball because if you switch off for a second, good players will capitalise on that. You have to have that understanding with your partner as well as the desire to never be beaten by your opponent. Never.”
