half term report on the season so far

In any aspect of life, it’s hard to put a value on experience, but the composure and intelligence that Russell Anderson has brought to Pittodrie since his return a year ago has surely been utterly priceless…

The praise and the glory for what has been a vastly improved Aberdeen season this time around has quite rightly been shared around players and staff alike, but there is little question that having Russell Anderson restored to the dressing room, to the field and to the captaincy has had a fundamental impact on the way Aberdeen play, not just in terms of the ability he brings to the side but to the self belief that his mere presence brings to the rest of the squad. When it comes to game management too, Anderson is a past master at seeing us through the 90 minutes and safely to our final destination. In short, his return has had a seismic impact on Aberdeen Football Club.

However, not even Russell can combat the injury troubles that have beset us this season, problems that have, as he concedes, threatened to derail the season.

“The one thing that has been the same as last season has been the injuries. No one can really understand why. The start to the season was good in a way as we were playing well although we were not getting the points we deserved. That gave everyone a little bit of confidence, I know the supporters were encouraged by the way we playing and there was a really good feeling about the club.

“More recently the results have not gone as well as we would have liked, and a lot can be put down to the injury situation, which has been terrible. Some people will say that that it is just an excuse but it is a fact we have had on average five or six players that would be in the first team out with injury. That has affected the results recently. All we can do now is concentrate on getting everyone 100% fit over the next couple of weeks. We also need to remember there are something like another 16 league games after the break which gives us plenty of time to have a good stab at finishing the season strongly.

“In theory, the winter break is a good thing. Whether they manage to time it right with the weather, we will find out soon enough. The weather can be bad from December all the way through to March so I am not sure if they have really addressed the problem. They have not done what they do in places like Scandinavia where they take a couple of months off but they obviously feel we need to have something. Everyone in the game will welcome some time off and it will certainly help us I think because by the time we resume we will have players back fit”.

Russell himself will certainly welcome the opportunity to take a break after a gruelling start to the campaign.

“For the first three or four months I was feeling remarkably good. The last few weeks has been a bit tougher because of the heavy pitches. The amount of games has had an accumulation effect but some time off this month will improve the situation. Hopefully myself and all the players can have a rest, recharge the batteries and then have a good second half to the season.

“It has been a while since I have played so many games and I have really enjoyed the routine of training Monday to Friday and playing on a Saturday. I have enjoyed not being in the treatment room. Playing every week definitely helps your overall performance.

“I have to look after my body. I have to make sure I get more rest. I do yoga, I do lots of leg weights continuously just to try and keep the hamstring as strong as possible. I have a routine now which I do every day and one I stick to because it seems to have worked. Hopefully it will carry on like that for the rest of the season. I have hardly missed any training which I am quite happy about. The manager and Archie are very understanding though. If I did want to sit out a session they would not have an issue with that. I do prefer though to be out on the training field with the boys.

“I have managed over twenty games now. Although I have had to miss a couple recently it was getting to the stage where I was feeling my hamstring a bit. I would rather miss one or two games than playing through it and doing some real damage and missing a bigger chunk like some of the boys have done.

“The one positive thing injuries do is give an opportunity to someone else. It gives an opportunity to a player who might not otherwise get it. Ryan Fraser got his opportunity when Niall was injured at the start of the season and he took his chance. Joe Shaughnessy is the same. He has played a number of games now and he certainly has not looked out of place.

“Midfield has been the area more than most that has been affected. It has meant that players have had to play out of position, such as Scott Vernon. Being the good professional he is, he has just got his head down and got on with it. Other players have been put in other positions just to try and cobble a team together to be honest.

“The injuries do not just affect what happens on a Saturday afternoon. There has been a real skeleton squad going out to training because as well the injured players, there would be other players recovering from games. Over the festive period there were only a few days between games so you are making sure you do not pick up any more injuries. You were wrapping the fit players up in cotton wool so to speak, so it has had a big bearing on everything. But the other teams have not been feeling sorry for us so we can not feel sorry for ourselves either!”

When the temporary issue of injuries is finally resolved, there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful as we enter 2013 as Russell points out.

“There is a lot to look forward to. We are well placed at the moment. We would like to have a few more points on the board and to be further up the league. There is no reason though why we can’t go on a good run when the season restarts and start to climb the table and get back up to where we were earlier in the season.

“For us to get through to the next round of the cup was a massive thing. I know a lot of people look at the cups as the only way for us to be challenging for silverware but you are only going to do well in the cup if you are playing well in the league. You have to take good form into big cup games. There is no getting away from it if you are losing each week. You cannot just turn up and expect to win these games”.

2013 is also the year that Russell’s own future will be resolved. What are his plans?

“I would like to make the decision on my own future before the summer so I know what it happening. I can understand that the management team will want to see if I can last the whole campaign before offering me a deal but as it stands at the moment, I want to play on and I feel I have done well enough to have another crack at it next season”.