In Redmatchday Issue 14 there is an in-depth interview with Aberdeen defender Andrew Considine:
Experience is a key ingredient in a sound defence, perhaps more important there than anywhere else in the team. Andrew has been a part of the rock solid defence on which our successes of the last couple of years have been built so, like the rest of us, he was left scratching his head as to why the Dons suddenly started shipping an uncharacteristic number of goals in October. “Mark Reynolds was out for a while and losing someone of his ability was a loss, although we coped well enough earlier in the season. Last season, when we had the run of not conceding goals, we had a settled back four which we maybe have not had this season. There have been quite a number of changes which were forced on the manager and that didn’t help.
“More than that though, it is all about confidence. When we are on top of our game, winning first balls, winning first headers, the confidence spreads right through the team. When you are confident, you are not over thinking what you are doing. When you’re not confident, you start doubting yourself and that is when mistakes are made. A split second of hesitation can lead to a mistake which in turn can lead to a goal. That is when it shows. One misjudgement can lead to a goal or, as a defender, it can lead you to being sent off.
“I would not say there is suddenly anything new we are now doing or that we worked on, we have just had to go back to basics to get the wheel turning again. The confidence is back. It shows with our performances on the park and also shows in training. When the confidence dips the standard in training dips slightly, but we are back to where we were now.
“We finished second last season so the expectation levels are very high. Then having such an incredible start put us up on that pedestal and then we beat Celtic at Pittodrie. We were on a real high but then someone just put the lights out. That is how it felt. That lasted for six or seven games, so you can fully understand the frustrations of the supporters. But it was even more frustrating for us because things were just not going right. It just was not happening, but that is football. It is very hard to fathom out why it happens. That bad spell could have hit us at any time. For whatever reason, it happened in October.
“During my career I have never had to deal with extremes like that. I have seen some real lows but have experienced anything like that and, I will be honest, it was tough. It was tough on the boys.
“But I feel like coming through the bad run will make us even stronger. When things got tough, we were able to come through it. The spirit has been outstanding but I feel it is even stronger now within the group.”
Ryan Jack: “Adam then went on to get his 50th goal for the club at Kilmarnock, which is a great achievement, especially in so few games – he’s got a strike rate of better than one in two and that’s really impressive. Niall is just one behind him and it would be good to see him complete his half century as soon as possible too. “We shouldn’t forget that you win games by doing well at both ends of the pitch and it is also very encouraging that as well as scoring goals, we have now had three clean sheets in a row.
There is also an exclusive interview with Jim Bett as part of our FPs Club feature.
Jim Bett was one of the most talented midfielders of his generation, a powerful, stylish and skilful player for club and country and a model professional who gave everything for the jersey. Jim was part of two Dons sides that won Cup doubles, in 1985/86 under Alex Ferguson and in 1989/90 under Alex Smith. One of the best two footed players ever to play for the club, Jim was a shining light as the Dons chased a title dream in 1990/91, only to lose out on the final day of the season. For anyone lucky enough to see Jim in a Red shirt, they will know just how good he was and that is why the midfielder was recently named in the greatest ever Aberdeen XI. Sean Graham got his memories of his career and his time with the Dons.
Was Fergie the main reason you signed for Aberdeen? Yes you could say that. He had built Aberdeen into a great team, and I had already said if I was coming back to Scotland I would sign for Aberdeen. The club had a lot of great players around at that time but you seemed to fit right in at home with them from the word go and had the perfect league debut, winning 3-0 against Hibernian and scoring the opening goal. The stadium was packed as the Merkland End was being rebuilt at the time. I scored and I also realised very quickly that the team had some excellent players. I couldn’t have asked for a better debut. Aberdeen had always a great defence, strong midfield and players up front who could score, Peter Weir was an excellent player to play with, and one of many you could say. Would you say the time you spent at Pittodrie was one of the happiest times of your career? In a word, yes. I have some great memories, especially under Alex Smith. Winning the double was a great achievement, he had built a strong team capable of winning. And we also played some great football. Did you and your family enjoy living in the city? We all enjoyed living in Aberdeen, that’s why I stayed so long. The children were happy, I was enjoying my football and the team were very good, so why move?
COVER: A big thanks to Paine Proffitt who has provided a special one off painting for the cover to recognise the festive season.
Also: Derek McInnes, Adam Rooney, Bruce Anderson, Stewart Milne, Richard Gordon, Dave Macdermid, Jim Hermiston, Chris Chrighton plus all the usual features including an in-depth history section. All this for only £3. RedMatchday Magazine is available from programme sellers in and around the ground plus you can buy a copy online by clicking here.
