Stuart Armstrong returned to his home city to a resounding reception at Pittodrie against Livingston last weekend. This week, the Scottish midfielder looks to help his new side progress to the Premier Sports Cup Semi-final as Aberdeen take on Motherwell.
Watch Stuart’s pre-match press conference on RedTV now.
Playing competitive football again
“It’s nice. I don’t I think I’ve been here a couple of weeks, so it’s still pretty fresh for me and I’m obviously still trying to sort out life alongside the football side of things, but I’m really happy to be in the building and get into that environment where I’m being pushed in training and then obviously the games are coming thick and fast.
“It felt like a long time since I played a game, and even when I was sat on the bench watching, I had that feeling of it has been a long time since I’ve played. I wonder how it’s going to go. But then, when you do go on pitch, sort of autopilot kicks in, and you just become part of the game and obviously I’d like my fitness to be a bit better, but unfortunately, it just takes time with more game exposure, and as a team, I think we were a little bit unlucky not to take more from the game. But that I think will come too.
“Any time I’ve been in that position, I always get excited going onto the pitch. Every footballer wants to do is to get that game exposure. The atmosphere was great, and you just want to do the best every time you get on the pitch. That feeling will never leave.”
Cup action at Pittodrie
“It’s a chance to get to Hampden, it’s a Quarter-final already so early in the season. It is a huge game and the Cup record I’m led to believe, has been pretty good in recent times. It’s another chance to add to that and to get a win as well would be a nice feeling for the group.
“There’s a lot of quality here. There are a lot of players but within each position, there’s different types of players who bring different qualities. The quality is really high from what I’ve seen so far, and a lot of competition for places. That’s the exciting part. If that wasn’t there, then you’d be worried, but it’s definitely not the case, and I think it’s only a matter of time before the aspects of different players’ games gel and result in the positive outcome.”
The long journey to playing for the Dons
“When I was around 13, I had six trial games in total for Aberdeen and never quite made the cut. I had to do it the long way round, and finally, they let me through the gates!
“It was a dream of mine when I was younger to play for Aberdeen. I grew up here. I went to school here. I used to go and watch the games here. Some of the first professional games I watched were Aberdeen matches with my dad and my brother, and when I got older, I used to go with my friends. It was a dream of mine, and then when I didn’t quite make it, I was gutted to be honest. It’s funny being back here and playing in the stadium that I used to watch games in all those years ago. It’s a nice feeling for me.
“I was very young back then and when something like that happens, you think, ‘I’m never going to be a professional football player.’ It’s just part and parcel of the game and things change, and you move on and you grow up.
“To be sat here playing for Aberdeen, a 13-year-old me wouldn’t have believed it! It’s nice to be here 20 years later.”
Why he signed for the Dons and keeping fit
“I wanted to go somewhere that excited me first and foremost, and it feels like I’ve been away from Scotland a long time. The attraction of the European football was there as well. There’s a lot to be said for familiarity in a way and coming back home, close to family and still provides that competitive football was a big appeal for me.
“One of my best friends was at Hamilton and John Rankin, who I used to play with, is the manager there. I trained with them for probably around two months, which I think has been a huge help for me in terms of fitness and has given me a big foundation coming here. When I’m joining in training, I don’t feel like I’m massively behind. It’s probably just the game time, you can’t replicate anywhere else, so that’s where the difference is, but the only solution to that is games, so bit by bit, hopefully that just comes together for me”.
