U20 captain Kieran Gibbons will have the honour of lifting the SPFL Development League trophy on Tuesday after the game against Dunfermline at Pittodrie. Nobody deserves to lift the trophy more than Kieran. He has had a lot to contend with during his short career and also had to battle back from a serious injury. His performances in central midfield this season have been outstanding and is a major reason why the U20s won the league.
Ahead of Tuesday night he spoke with www.afc.co.uk and started by telling us where he was when he heard the news the title had been won.
“I was actually away playing pool with Nicky Low last Thursday afternoon. We just kept refreshing our twitter feeds to find out what was happening! If it was my shot he was refreshing his phone and if it was his shot I was keeping an eye on things. I was doing more of the refreshing which lets you know you who is the better pool player! “Once we had won it we were both ecstatic. I am so pleased for Nicky. He has been with the club a long time and has been involved with the U20 side for about eight years or so. This is my fourth season at this level. For some of the boys in the dressing room they are winning a title in their first season, but for the older players we have had to wait a long time.
“I know some people would have preferred us to win it on the park but from my point of view I don’t care. It is won by being the best team over the course of a season so it does not matter how it is won. Celtic are always very strong at this level and we knew they would push us all the way. Both Celtic and Hamilton have had good seasons so I am just pleased we managed to get over the line.
“I think it is a remarkable achievement. Other teams have a far bigger budget at this level so to overcome that with hard work and dedication is a really good achievement. Especially as it is so long since an Aberdeen side won the second tier league.
“At the start of the season we were a very young side. Back then we really had to dig in and we won games through hard work. No matter what team we have fielded every player in the dressing room has contributed the same way, everyone has fought for each other.
“A lot of players have played for the side this year and everyone has played an important part. The backbone of the team though has been U20 boys who have played every week. Michael Rose in defence, myself in midfield, Cammy Smith ahead of me and Lawrence Shankland upfront. Then round about us we have had younger players and then some week some more experiences boys. But as I say everyone has played their part.
“It is a testament to the senior players at this club that when they have stepped down to play for us they have all shown a fantastic attitude and have been as desperate to win the games as much as we have. We have all learnt something from at least one of them.
“For a number of years now we have been a good team but in my first three seasons we had to play well to win games. When did not play well we did not win. We had to put in a very good performance to win games. This year, even when we have fielded younger teams or not played at our best we have managed to grind out results and that is why we have won the league.
“The game that sticks out in the mind most is the Partick Thistle match at Forfar. We had a depleted side that day because a good number of players were away on international duty. I just remember there being wave after wave of attack against us but somehow we manage to stay strong and we groundout a 2-1 victory. Also the game down at Dunfermline. They had a strong side out that day and we lost Scott McKenna at half time through injury. Daniel Harvie, one of the youngest players in the squad, had to go in and play at centre half. We won the match thanks to a brilliant team goal that was finished off by Kalvin Orsi. “The best performance of the season for me was the 3-0 away win against Celtic in Greenock at the start of March. Both teams knew how an important a game it was going to be in terms of the title race. They fielded a very strong team so we had to put in a very good performance. We were very good that day. We went into the game knowing we had beaten them earlier in the season so we had the belief we could win and that gave us the confidence to go and out and do what we did. It was one of the best team performances from an Aberdeen side I can remember being involved in.
“I believe winning the league shows we have the best youth set up in the country at the moment. Therefore everyone in the Youth Academy, especially all the part-time coaches deserve some recognition. They put in hours and hours of work on the training pitches with the boys.
“Paul Sheerin and Scott Anderson deserve a lot of credit. Paul’s man-management has been superb. I was injured at the time when he came into the club. It would have been very easy for him to overlook me because I was not available for selection but he spoke to me throughout that period and eased me back into the side. That really helped me.
“Paul is the first to admit if he has made a mistake and if he is wrong, but more often than not he is right with everything he does. His tactics have been brilliant and have worked in almost every game, even when we have had to change it. He does not over complicate things which I believe has helped us. Having still been a player until recently he knows how we are thinking going onto a football field so he knows what instructions we need without overdoing it. He demands that we work hard and that we all do our defensive duties when we don’t have the ball but he also gives us a freedom to go out and play, especially the front players and that is why we have scored so many goals.
“I am very excited about lifting the trophy but first and foremost all I am thinking about is winning the game on Tuesday. It would not be the same lifting a trophy if we have lost. So hopefully we can win the game and take it from there. There will be less pressure on us which means we will be able to enjoy the occasion a bit more but we will still be desperate to win.
“Because we did not win it on the park I don’t really think it has sunk in just what we have achieved. I think on Tuesday it will hit home.
“It has been a very good season for me personally, making my first team debut, I think I have developed under Paul. He has helped me come on as a player which he needs to get a lot of credit for.
“Hopefully one or two or the boys in the changing room can make it into the first team dressing room. That is the ultimate aim and hopefully my medal will be the first of many in the game but whatever happens in the future this title is something no one can take away from us. Very few youth players get the opportunity to lift a trophy, even in the senior game many good players go through their career without winning anything so it is important we enjoy Tuesday as much as possible with the fans and our families.”
