Aberdeen badly needed to kick the habit of losing out in the transfer market to sides in the English lower divisions.
KENNY HODGART
Aberdeen badly needed to kick the habit of losing out in the transfer market to sides in the English lower divisions. With the capture of the former Kilmarnock midfielder, Gary McDonald, on a free transfer from Oldham Athletic they may have felt a certain relief that Pittodrie is not, after all, universally regarded as some Transylvanian outpost to be avoided or fled from.
In January, Michael Hart and Chris Clark left the club for the bright lights of Preston North End and Plymouth Argyle, respectively, while Barry Nicholson has since followed Hart to Deepdale. It looks increasingly unlikely that Alan Maybury, a loan signing last season, will join permanently despite his contract running out at Leicester City.
But McDonald needed barely a moment's reflection before deciding to join.
"I had offers to stay at Oldham and from one or two others in England but Jimmy Calderwood phoned me a couple of months before the end of the season and I knew it was an offer that I couldn't really turn down," he says.
"The chance to join a big club like Aberdeen doesn't come along too often.
I want to win trophies and I think there's a good chance of doing that with the team we've got. I don't think we're in with a shout of winning the league, but when it comes to the cup competitions we're in with a real chance. I never got to a cup final with Kilmarnock so it's something I want to achieve here. There's also a very good chance of finishing third in the league and getting another go at Europe, which was a great experience for the boys here last season."
In a creditable 2007-08 UEFA Cup campaign, Aberdeen tested themselves against the likes of Panathinaikos, Atletico Madrid, FC Copenhagen and Bayern Munich. McDonald took his own chance to impress against superior opposition in January: his goal from 25 yards out was enough for Oldham to cause an upset at Goodison Park in the third round of the FA Cup. "That was definitely the highlight of my time at Oldham," he says. "It was a great result for us on the day, although we did go on and screw it up in the next game, because if we'd beaten Huddersfield we could have had Chelsea away, so we were kicking ourselves then."
In terms of Premier League opponents, they come no bigger than Manchester United, against whom McDonald will make his Aberdeen debut at Pittodrie tomorrow, albeit in a friendly. Twenty-five years on from guiding the north-east club to glory in the European Cup-Winners' Cup, Sir Alex Ferguson happily agreed to the fixture. McDonald, though only a month old when John Hewitt headed the goal that clinched a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the final in Gothenburg, is still enthused.
"It's a great game to be going into," he says. "It's a sell-out crowd so it'll be a good atmosphere. Obviously, you don't know what kind of team Man United are going to bring up but whoever they do will be a good group of players and it doesn't get much better for your first game.
"When you sign for Aberdeen and walk down the corridors you see the pictures of the Ferguson era and you get a sense of the history and you're not long in realising that this is a big club. Obviously, we're a long way away from the glory days now, but if we can get back to reaching cup finals and playing European football on a more regular basis it can lift the club again."
Calderwood will hope McDonald provides brawn in the Aberdeen midfield where in recent seasons they have often appeared lightweight. He also believes the man from Ayrshire has the potential to reach double figures in terms of goals per season, having scored 13 over two terms in England.
"I think it's important that we do chip in with goals from midfield, it helps to take a bit of pressure off the strikers," says McDonald.
Aberdeen have not had a prolific striker for the best part of a decade and Calderwood is currently seeking to add to his options up front, while wide players are also likely to be a priority. With the addition of Mark Kerr from Dundee United this week, at least his midfield looks to be in decent shape.
McDonald can't wait for the season to start. "Going down to England was something I'd always wanted to try," he says. "It's a bigger pond, you're competing against a lot more teams and testing yourself against different players. I feel I'm a better player for having had that experience."
Calderwood thrilled by United visit
Jimmy Calderwood, the Aberdeen manager, admits that the excitement of facing Manchester United at Pittodrie tomorrow, in their first game since winning the Champions League trophy in Moscow, is almost too much to bear.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Patrice Evra and Louis Saha, all participants for their countries in Euro 2008, will not play in the testimonial match for the Aberdeen side which won the European Cup-Winners' Cup 25 years ago but Calderwood rattled off a long list of top-class players - including Rio Ferdinand, Carlos Tevez, Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney - who are set to appear.
"It's a great occasion," Calderwood said. "I don't really like playing home games for pre-season but when the opposition is Manchester United you can't say no to it. It's very exciting. They are one of the biggest brand names in the world and we have to fit in with their plans. It's wonderful for us and for our supporters."
Of Aberdeen's success in 1983, Calderwood said: "I certainly regard it as an inspiration that a group pf lads from Scotland went on and beat a massive club like Real Madrid and, on the way, Bayern Munich."
