Stephen Robinson met with the media on Friday morning to preview our Premier Sports Cup match against Queen's Park at Pittodrie.
RedTV subscribers can watch the press conference now.
The addition of Marius Müller
“Marius is a very experienced goalkeeper.
"He’s played at a very high level in the Bundesliga, so he adds real experience and real quality to the goalkeeping group. It was something we’d been monitoring. Obviously, there has been a bit of interest in Dimi and we have to be prepared for that.
“I’m somebody who believes in being proactive instead of reactive, where you end up paying too much money in the last days of the window. So we’ve moved very quickly to put that in place.
“As a manager, you’re always on the lookout for what can strengthen your squad. Marius certainly strengthens the goalkeeping situation. It’s every position, not just goalkeeper. You’re always looking.”
The Goalkeeping Department
“You’re always at the mercy of other clubs coming in to buy your better players and we have to be proactive with that.
"The opportunity came for Marius and it’s not often you get the opportunity to sign somebody with that amount of experience and that level of quality. We decided to do that, and it means we’re in a better position should anything happen with Dimi.
“No, not at the moment (more interest in Dimitar Mitov). There’s obviously been lots of rumours, lots of talk, lots of agents, but no, not at this moment."
Overhauling the squad
“My first season at Motherwell I brought 17 in and we got to two cup finals. I think we brought about 14 in at St Mirren and we got to Europe, so it’s been okay so far.
“It does take a little bit of time to hit the ground running. What I’ve tried to do is bring boys in who know the level or have played at a very good level, so you have more chance of them hitting the ground running.
“It’s taking shape. Obviously, there are still things we need to be better at. There were lots of really good aspects of the performance. The number of chances we created was fantastic, but we have to take those chances, of course.
“It’s starting to shape up and, as the cup games progress towards the start of the season, we’re hoping to have that ready to go.
“A manager always needs to bring in more! Of course we’re still looking. I think there are still certain areas we need to be stronger in.
“There are players I believe will leave the club in the coming weeks. We start very early. In Europe and even in England, the leagues don’t start for a long time yet. They have a long period of rest over the summer. We don’t. We have three weeks and we need to, as I say, hit the ground running and do our signings early so you’re prepared, which gives you, in my opinion, the best chance of success.
“We’ve got our eyes on other people, but obviously there are going to be people who need to leave as well. I want a squad of around 23/24 outfield players. At the moment it’s too big, but I’ve made those players aware of that and that’s something that’s hopefully currently happening.”
Reflections on Brora
“You’ve seen the results the other night. Everyone thinks you’re going to turn up and win comfortably, but that’s not how football works on a lot of occasions.
“The pitch was really, really sticky and bobbly. It obviously reduces the amount of times you can move the ball quickly, but I thought we managed it really well. The first half was really good. If we’d been seven or eight up at half-time it probably would have been justified.
“When you don’t, it becomes a little bit nervy for a couple of minutes, but we managed it well. We got more fitness in the legs and we came out unscathed.”
The Red Army
“I’m really looking forward to it. The fans were excellent with me and the team last year in really difficult circumstances. I think we had 18,500 every game for the final four home games.
“Again, we’re asking the fans to turn out and support. I think 1,000 travelled away to Brora, which is incredible. I didn’t think Scotland was that big. There’s another four hours after Aberdeen, which just shows the level of dedication.
“It’s not cheap to watch football anymore and the dedication of this football club’s fans is incredible. We want them to turn out in numbers, have a look at the new players, see how the squad is progressing and hopefully see a completely different squad from last year.”
Improvements on last year
“It’s always difficult for a manager to take over mid-season in a relegation battle. Make no mistake, it was a relegation battle when we came.
“You’re trying to implement your ways, and you maybe aren’t able to do everything you want because of the personnel or the situation we found ourselves in. So it’s good to have a fresh start over pre-season, put our ideas across and see those come to fruition.”
Team News
“We’ve got a few boys back. We’ve got KJ (Kjartan Mar Kjartansson), who’ll be available again. We have Kenan (Bilalovic), who should be available. Stuart Armstrong isn’t quite going to be available for Saturday, but he’s back on the training pitch today.
"Alex Briedl will be available as well.
“I’d like to keep everybody, but that’s obviously not feasible when you’ve got a squad of 29 or 30 players.”
Positive Play
“Yeah, I thought we’d saw a lot of good stuff, especially in the first half. As I say, we should have been seven or eight nil up. It was incredible goalkeeping, some incredible misses and a little bit of luck on Brora’s side as well, hitting off kneecaps.
“There was a lot of good play. When you don’t go three or four nil up in the first half hour, everyone starts to panic. But I thought we managed it really well. We competed really well, which I’m not sure could have been said of an Aberdeen team last season.
“There were lots of things that were good and obviously another chance to take that step forward on Saturday, and improve even more.”
The challenge of Queen’s Park
“A big challenge. As I say, no games easy. All teams now are well coached and very, very hard to break down.
“We’ll have a lot of possession and it’s about being clinical, looking for movement in the box and a lot of the things we’ve worked on in possession and our reactions when we lose the ball.
“You’re looking for all of that. As I say, you’re looking for improvements every game. The cup games come early. I’ve made no secret of the fact I don’t like the format. I enjoyed winning it, but I didn’t like the format.
“You have to make sure you’re ready for that and it sets you up nicely for the league season, but you have to come out with wins as well.”
