Gordon Marshall spoke to RedTV this week in Ireland. The Dons goalkeeping coach gave a good insight into the work he does with all the keepers currently at Pittodrie.

To watch the full interview click on the red button.

 

Joe Lewis

“Signing Joe on the length of contract he is on was huge.

“It is not something that happens a great deal now, that length of contract. But he has been outstanding on and off the pitch.

“I would say that he is the best keeper in Scotland, consistently he has performed really well.

“There are a lot of good goalkeepers in Scotland, but Joe is certainly up there amongst them all. The consistent level that he has performed at since he has been at Aberdeen, has been outstanding.

“Long may that continue.

“The length of contract brings new challenges.

“Trying to keep him fresh is something that we will need to sit down and look at and we will build some kind of plan of how we are going to go about things this year and the next four years. So that will be good and I am looking forward to that challenge.”

Tomas Cerny

“Tomas has done great.

“He deserves his extension that he has signed. When he has been called upon, he has done extremely well.

“Really pleased for him.

“The chemistry between the two senior keepers at Aberdeen is very good in training which is very important for a backup keeper – you want to be able to trust him when he goes in goal, but also how he works with the first choice is vital.

“It is very difficult when you have someone like Joe who is such a strong number one.

“But the two of them work extremely well together, there is still competition between them but there is a nice respect between them.”

Danny Rogers

“Working with Danny this week, it was about getting in and getting him in a frame of mind where he is ready to go again.

“Last year was a disappointment for him. Like a lost year because of the injury he had but that has certainly cleared up and the way he has trained, he looks hungry.

“He is someone that we would possibly look at putting out on loan to get him games under his belt again, get him back into a position where he is playing week in week out.”

Sam Jackson

“I watched Sam a couple of times when we played against Dundee.

“The reports were very good.

“With Dundee’s situation, we were on the ball and managed to get him in straight away.

“He is a good size, good potential. So looking forward to working with him.

“This time of year, it is mainly about the senior keepers, getting them ready for Europe but when we go back home we will get a chance to see him and will put a plan together and see how he fits into the Aberdeen way of working.”

Tom Ritchie

“And young Tom Ritchie, who has come through the AFC Youth Academy into the Development squad, I am pleased with that because we have been quite consistent with that over the last few years, bringing goalkeepers up from the Academy.

“Archie Mair was one of them a couple of seasons ago who came in full time from the Youth Academy. Norwich have come in, watched him in a number of games, liked what they seen and decided to put the money on the table and give Archie a chance down south.

“These things happen.

“Archie is looking forward to the challenge. We were in a position where yes we wanted to keep him but the way things worked out, he will now see his challenges down south and we wish him all the best.”

 

“As a goalkeeping coach, when you are working with such a small group of players each day, if you have a problem it really does affect the whole thing. There is great harmony between all the keepers which creates a great working environment.

“We have two senior goalkeepers at Aberdeen who are great people to learn off so that helps the younger ones.

“We look forward to working together this season and learning as a group.”