Is it your aim to be the first choice centre forward for the first European match?
“Every player in the squad aims to get into that team – the lads will be chomping at the bit to get their name down on that sheet.”
How have you found the transition to Scotland, obviously a long way north to where you have been used to?
“It was a big shock for the family to come up here, but once you start playing football and are settled, it’s just the same as being anywhere. I’ve been really impressed with the training and the way the lads have gone about it and how fit they are.”
How much of an attraction was the European campaign?
“It was a big pull in coming. It wasn’t the only one, it was an added bonus to experience something new and something I probably wouldn’t experience if I stayed down in England. Everyone I spoke to especially in footballing circles were really complimentary about the club. They realise Aberdeen is a very big club and so it was a decision I made easily.
“It is obviously a club that I knew a lot about down in England, there is publicity as the games get put on TV a lot more and you can follow the Scottish teams more and with Rangers coming up it adds something to the league. Coming here is a chance to hopefully achieve some success.”
Have you set yourselves targets and ambitions for your time at Aberdeen?
“I’m not really the sort of person to do that. I am all about working hard and especially now getting as fit as I possibly can to allow me to achieve something very good here at Aberdeen.”
Aberdeen were perhaps more on your radar over the last couple seasons since they’ve had that profile at the top end of the table challenging for the title?
“Looking on at that you get jealous, seeing these players achieving success like that and it makes you want it even more. Looking at the pictures of the parade around the city and stuff like that, it really impresses you, the fans and how they all came together to support their team and you want to be a part of that, taste that success.”
Are you looking for a little bit of stability now so you can develop as a player?
“That was a big attraction. I possibly could have stayed at Bournemouth another year, but this was big, signing a two-year deal, moving the family up, getting a bit of stability. I’ve been moving about a lot the last two years and to get somewhere I’m going to be for an extended period of time is really an exciting thought. I can really knuckle down now and focus a lot on my game and achieving something good.”
How difficult was it to leave Bournemouth?
“I think it was the right time to leave. I haven’t been involved as much as I would have liked the last few years but I hold really good memories of the football there and representing my hometown club. It is brilliant what the club has done, it has transformed the town into this footballing machine, it is great seeing kids now wearing Bournemouth shirts around the town– the club is a big success story and I’m sure it will continue to grow.”
You’ve seen Bournemouth defy the odds, does that give you inspiration for here in terms of Europe first and foremost, but also in the league in terms of Aberdeen being able to go one step further than they have done in the past few years?
“At Bournemouth I was on the periphery of things. Watching them go through it and get the success has made me a lot hungrier to go on and taste something special and coming up here and seeing the standards has made me really excited about what we could achieve.”
How impressed have you been with the manager and his blueprint and vision for the club?
“That was a big pull in coming here. I was happy to get the decision cemented as early as I could and I did not want it to drag it out. As soon as I spoke to the gaffer here about the philosophy and the way that he saw the game, I think it really suited my style and there are exciting times ahead. I need to do the business on the pitch but the early signs are brilliant.
“Forget all the money and stuff like that, what you want to do when you finish your career is look back and think about what you have achieved, that’s what everyone wanted to do when they grew up, to achieve something really good in the game.”
A chance to play with the likes of Adam Rooney, is that exciting for you?
“Definitely. He has got a big reputation here and I can see why, his stats are fantastic since he has been here and it is exciting to learn something from him in training, picking up little bits from players like that and obviously you have Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn who is going to rejoin the squad on Tuesday. I’m just picking up little bits the way they play at the moment and it’s just exciting to see the quality that this team has.”
The guys made the third qualifying round last season – it would be good to go one better!
“That is the sign of a good team, one which is improving year and year out. If we make that improvement this year, that would be a success. That’s what we are all thinking about, that will be the reward for all this hard work in getting back so early for pre-season.”
“That is the sign of a good team, one which is improving year and year out. If we make that improvement this year, that would be a success. That’s what we are all thinking about, that will be the reward for all this hard work in getting back so early for pre-season.”
