Aberdeen this week completed the signing of Nicky Devlin. The defender has been one of the most consistent full-backs in the league over the past few seasons and understandably had a good number of clubs pursuing him. However, as Nicky revealed during his signing interview on RedTV, manager Barry Robson played a big part in his decision to move his family north.

“It is brilliant to finally be here. It has been a long time coming! But it is great to be an Aberdeen player and I am really looking forward to the season ahead.

“The timing of the news coming out was not great as the focus for me over the past four or five weeks has been to win games for Livingston. The club has been a huge part of my life for four years. They gave me opportunities that I did not have before in terms of playing in the SPFL Premiership and captaining a team in this league. I owe them a lot and it was sad to leave but this was an opportunity I simply could not turn down at this stage of my career.

“The decision to come to Aberdeen, a big part of it was speaking to the manager. I had other options and I spoke to other clubs and other managers, but Aberdeen was the most impressive from my point of view. There was a real personal touch to it and just small things, things that others might not think are that important, but make all the difference when you are trying to decide your future. Aberdeen was definitely the best fit for me.

“The way the manager wants to take the club forward, that was also a very good fit and ultimately the reason I made the decision that I did.

“You ask any footballer what is the most important thing, and it is to be loved. We are the type of people that have to be told that we are brilliant all the time! We have to be valued and have to be wanted. The way the manager and the other members of staff were with me before I signed, it certainly made the decision a lot easier for me.

“The manager spoke to me about what he wants for the first team, and for the club as a whole. He listed off just about all the good attributes that I have got going for me! He made it very clear how he wants the club to go forward and how he wants to play on a Saturday, and hopefully a Thursday also. That was a big factor.

“He wants to play on the front foot, he wants to be aggressive, he wants to get the ball forward and get his full backs or wing backs to get into attacking areas and that is everything that suits my game. Hopefully we can implement that style next year and carry on the good work that the boys have done during the last couple of months of the season.

“My main job is defending but I do have a good goalscoring record at Pittodrie! I have scored two goals, the most amount of goals I think I have scored at any Premiership ground! Hopefully I can chip in with a few more up here for Aberdeen.”

As well as his ability as a right back, Nicky brings other qualities to the squad – a strong mentality, a great work ethic and real leadership skills.

“I was captain at Ayr United for a couple of seasons and I was captain of Livingston for the past few years. I think my first game as skipper was at Pittodrie. The clubs where I have been captain, it is something I have thrived on. There is pressure that comes with it, there is added pressure going into games. I felt like that I am able to deal with that.

“It is an honour to be a captain at any football club and to do that in this league with Livingston was brilliant for me. The dressing room here, there are quite a number of boys who take on that role, without actually wearing the armband. I hope to try and do that as well and bring those qualities to the club.

“Different players go about being a captain in different ways. The biggest thing for me is trying to lead by example by the way you go about the work every single day. That is the most important thing. People look at you and if you are doing things right it will encourage others to do it right.

“It does not come down to who wears the armband. If you can have five or six boys in the dressing room who are all leading by example and pushing in the one direction, then you definitely have more chance of success.”

Like most players who are successful in the game, Nicky has had to work hard to get to where he is today and needed to show plenty of character along the way.

“I started my career at Dumbarton, I was only 16 when I played there. After that I moved about quite a bit to be honest. I landed up having spells at Stenhousemuir, then Ayr United for three seasons before I went down the road to Walsall for a couple of years. I loved my time in England, a different league and style of football, playing in different stadiums and teams you would not normally play against. I really enjoyed it and then more recently I have been at Livingston for the past four years before coming to Aberdeen.

“I was still a part-time player six or seven years ago – I do appreciate that, I understand that. It makes me really appreciate where I am now and the club I have signed for as I know how hard I have had to work to get here. I therefore really want to do well at Aberdeen and grasp the opportunity that I have been given.

“My career highlights to this point, at Ayr we got promoted and I was the captain and only 20 years of age at the time. It was the first year I had ever been a captain, so it was incredible to lead the team to promotion. Ross McCrorie played with me at the time. I was right-back and he played right midfield. And then more recently, with Livingston we won the League Cup semi-final in 2021 against St Mirren at Hampden. That was the biggest high I have had, but then came the biggest low, losing the cup final (against St Johnstone). It means you look back at the semi-final differently because ultimately you did not get the job done. Signing for a club like Aberdeen, hopefully there are a lot more highlights to come. Hopefully a few more trips to Hampden and some wins at Hampden.

“European football is something every player can look forward to. You could potentially have the opportunity to play against some of the biggest clubs in Europe, if not world football, regardless of what competition you are going to be in. There are big clubs in each tournament. I am really looking forward to it, it will be tough obviously, the games will be difficult but as I say I am really looking forward to it.

“It is going to be an exciting summer (to see who else the manager brings in) after the way the team finished the season and claimed third spot. The boys went on a fantastic run. If the manager can hopefully hold on to the players that he wants to hold on to and add some new faces, it will put the squad in a good place going into what will be a challenging but very exciting season ahead.”