SCOTT McKenna has put an end to speculation surrounding his future after signing a new deal at Aberdeen and says he still has a lot to learn.
The centre-back was linked with a move to Hull in the January transfer window, but Aberdeen rejected all advances and have tied him down to a long-term deal.
McKenna, who will be hoping for a first Scotland call-up in next week’s squad announced by Alex McLeish, has signed a new five-and-a-half-year deal to keep him at the club until 2023 after an impressive first full season at Pittodrie.
Hull were determined to secure the signature of the 21-year-old in January, tabling three bids only to see them all turned down as Derek McInnes fought to hold on to the youngster, and McKenna is keen to gain more experience at the club.
He told RedTV: “The manager said to me straight away that I was going nowhere and the bid they received for me was nowhere near what they wanted.
“He said what he wanted from me –he wants me to get 100-150 games here and hopefully be successful so it was an easy decision to stay.”
However, the defender, who previously had loan spells at Ayr United, twice, and Alloa Athletic, admitted that he does envisage moving on at some stage but feels he requires significant progress in his game before he does so.
The influence of his manager cannot be underestimated either.
“I haven’t played many first-team games here and I have a lot of learning to do before I do move on,” McKenna said. “Some people have been down [to England] and been successful, but I see my career just now at Aberdeen.”
He added: “The manager has always been brilliant with me. Ever since I came in as a 16-year-old he has looked after me very well.
“When I play in the first team, he does not put too much pressure on me.
Read more: Scott Sinclair has gone from Celtic's main man to being unsure whether he will start against Rangers
“He lets me go out and do my job. There is a lot to look forward to.”
McInnes said the news was a boost for the entire club and said the improved deal was a reward for the performances he has put in.
Kirriemuir-born McKenna has played 24 matches for the Pittodrie club in all competitions this season and scored three Ladbrokes Premiership goals.
McInnes said: “It’s fantastic news for a brilliant young man and for everyone at the club.
“Scott’s earned this improved contract through his strong performances and he’s been a pleasure to work with since day one.
“I’m looking forward to Scott being part of a strong and successful
Aberdeen team going forward.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here