Ahead of the international break, Dons assistant manager Tony Docherty spoke to RedTV about the season so far and looked ahead to a busy few weeks coming up.
“We are back to where we normally are at this stage of the season in terms of points in the league, after what was perceived to be a slow start. Also we have a cup final to look forward to. So it is a good place to be just now.
“We have had great groups here before, since Derek and I have been at the club, but this group in particular, there is a really strong bond. That also runs through the club. All the staff are very close and we all get on really well. It is a great environment to work in. I love it. I know all the staff are the same.
“Plus the players are all best pals, they spend a lot of time together away from football. We work at that as a club. It is priceless. It can win you a lot of points during a season, that togetherness. You go that extra mile for your team mate and as I say that runs through the club.
“Staff and players have a great relationship together. I think that is quite apparent and you draw on that when you are going through more difficult times. Touchwood, I think we have out the other side.
“It is a good place to be at the moment.
“If you look at the squad which finished with the win at Celtic Park on the final day of the season, we lost Greg Stewart, Ryan Christie, Anthony O’Connor; there were a lot of changes we were forced into and we had to recruit a lot of different players. And that does not happen overnight. Normally we bed down our strongest team during this period (after the last international break). Also there is a stronger bond between the players, there is more happening, the dressing room gets louder. It is a process. We have always had good dressing rooms, but you need to work at that. It is during these months (November and December) that it comes to the fore.
“I love this club. It is a great club. When you have times like this you enjoy it because it is hard work to get to this stage. We can now look forward to a cup final. It is testament to the hard work of everyone at the football club.”
