Graeme Shinnie played a captain’s part as Aberdeen clinched third place with a 3-0 win over St Mirren, scoring twice on his return from a lengthy suspension.
“The last few weeks have been frustrating, but coming into this game, I knew what it meant to the club. I was desperate to help the team and drive them on, which I haven’t been able to do for too long now.
“I love it here, I’m the captain, this feels like home, so I was delighted to help get us over the line tonight. I’m just disappointed the boys were selfish and didn’t try to get me a penalty so I could get my hat-trick!
“Watching the games was tough because as a player you want to be able to affect games and you can’t do that when you’re stuck in the stands. It wasn’t so bad when we beat Rangers but when things aren’t going right and we’re not playing as well as we want, it is hard work.”
Shinnie scored either side of the interval to put some distance between the Dons and their opponents after Leighton Clarkson had given Aberdeen a early lead.
“Scoring the header was important, because that second goal was crucial to give us a breathing space. In the dressing room at half-time, we said 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline and that we had to get the next goal, so I was really pleased I was able to do that. After that, we gave the ball away too much, we gave them a few openings, but to finish 3-0 and to clinch third place was a perfect night.
“The lads have done well. It’s a remarkable turnaround from where we were in January. We were confident we could turn our form around but Hearts were on a good run and 10 or 11 points clear at one point. At that stage, we’d have been happy with fourth to be honest, but the run we’ve been on is testament to the hard work everyone has put in, including the manager and the staff. It’s a young squad with a few old heads like Jonny and Joe – not me yet, but I’m getting there! To have the character to turn it around is impressive.
“As a player, when a manager loses his job, you feel ashamed. We were part of one of the worst weeks in the club’s history and that’s not easy to get away from. We knew we were a bit squad than what we were giving on the pitch, so we had to go a game at a time, try to build momentum, and as that went on, then we could start to think about targets and what we could achieve.
“I’m not surprised Barry has done well, though I don’t think anybody expected this kind of turnaround. What I’ve seen from him with the youth team, the philosophy he has created, once he got the job, I was confident he could bring that through to the first team. The way he’s trying to play, the pace on the transitions, the aggressive forward running that we do, it brings the crowd to their feet and gets the place going.”
