Leighton Clarkson might need to learn to add the six yard tap-in to his game at some point, but for the moment, the Dons are quite happy with letting him have the ball 30 yards out from goal…

“I’ve not really had any chances of shots at goal other than from distance so far, but I’m delighted I’ve managed to score two of them so far. The free-kicks are something I work on a lot the day before a game and I like to do shooting practice regularly after training sessions as well.

“It started when I was 18. Steven Gerrard was our youth coach and I did a lot of one to one sessions with him about free-kicks, and since then, I’ve made it a regular thing before games. You couldn’t really have anyone better to learn off than him when it comes to striking the ball. He would always say that you’re in control of the situation, take your time and make sure you hit it as you want.

“I prefer this goal to the St Mirren one, partly because it won the game today and we really needed to bounce back from last Saturday, so it was an important one. I’d missed one a couple of minutes earlier. I was going to hit it in the other corner but the defender came across and I had to try and hit it straighter into the bottom corner, but pulled it wide.

“The goal James Maddison scored against Rangers popped up on my phone yesterday – I didn’t even know he’d scored it until then, but maybe that was a bit of inspiration.”

Two goals in three games is a strong start to Leighton’s spell in the Granite City, and it’s clear he’s taken to the club and the city very quickly.

“I’m loving my time up here so far. I came up here to play games and I’ve done that so far. The fans have given me a great welcome, even when I’m out and about in the city, so I’m really happy with how things are going.

“It was really important to me to come to a team where I could play and as soon as Aberdeen came in, I was excited. I’ve watched them on TV in the past, I knew about the club, so it was an easy choice to come here. Scottish football has become a lot bigger over the last few years and I watched a lot of games, and I’ve had some friends who’ve played up here too, so I’ve paid a lot of interest to the game up here.

“I needed to play this season – obviously at Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world, that’s difficult at my age, so a loan seemed the sensible thing to do.

“I need to improve physically – the Championship was tough last season, so that was part of my development. Technically I feel I’m able to cope with things, but it’s a process of getting stronger both from playing games and from working hard in the gym.”