An Aberdeen XI side will begin their pre-season campaign on Saturday afternoon when they visit Bellslea Park to take on Highland League Fraserburgh, in a testimonial for Scott Barbour.

Barbour has featured over 400 times for The 'Broch after making his debut in 2009, netting on over 280 occasions, and winning nine cup finals along the way.

There will be a cash gate in operation at Bellslea Park.

Development Phase Coach Stuart Duff previewed our trip to Fraserburgh.

“The boys all followed their programmes, and they all came back in good condition. Nowadays, you find there has been a massive shift in terms of culture towards time off, which allows them to come back and work really hard.

“The staff have implemented a really good programme, looking at the nutrition, the diet, the recovery, the key elements that allow us to demand as much from them as possible.

“It has been a really encouraging start so far.

“We went to Balmedie beach the other day and done some hard work there. It was a really good change of scenery. Just on a whim, with the nice weather, we took advantage of that. It was good to give them the challenge, and the boys really enjoyed it. They were all in the sea after, so it was good bonding, particularly with the younger boys.

“The new faces have done really well. Credit to them, they have done really well working away over the summer. They knew it was going to be a big jump from U17s to Development, so I have been really pleased.

“Their attitudes, the way they have applied themselves, the way they have worked away in training and carried themselves at the training ground, it is really good. It can be daunting for them in a new environment, so we take time, we nurture them, and that is something as staff we need to give extra attention to.

“In one way, we are back to games earlier than we would have anticipated. The boys will also go and play friendlies, play bounce games with their new loan clubs. That is something we have learnt from last year: can we get them out on loan slightly earlier to help them get settled, and give them the best chance to start strong and catch the eye of their managers?

“There are some tough friendlies coming up. We aren’t looking at it from a results perspective. Of course, we want to show what we can do, and we don’t want to get beat heavily, but it is about getting the work in.

“They will be treated as a working exercise; that is how we will operate. It’s not a World Cup Final; we won’t be treating it as such.

“Scott Barbour has been a thorn in my side for a while, particularly when I was playing!

“He has had an illustrious career. He is a great lad, someone I have a lot of time for. He’s a massive Aberdeen fan. He’s been texting me every day, asking for strips and getting stuff signed, but he is the kind of person you want to do that for.

“He’s got a good heart. Yes, he was at Formartine for a bit, but he’s a one-club man predominantly. He’s had a great career at Fraserburgh.

“Hopefully he gets a great turnout, because he deserves it for what he has brought to the football club and the town. We will do our utmost to be part of it. It’ll be a great occasion."