THE prospect of Cammy Bell, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper, leaving Ayrshire in the summer is perhaps becoming too much for some to bear, just ask his manager.
On second thoughts, best not.
Kenny Shiels sat down in the press room within Pittodrie shortly after his side's 1-0 defeat by Aberdeen had been gratefully brought to its conclusion, ready to hold court with the assembled media. Things were going swimmingly until one scribbler had the audacity to compliment his No.1 on a string of fine saves that helped keep down the score.
"People keep saying to me that Cammy made fantastic saves, but did he?" Shiels inquired. "The kind of saves he made today should be meat and drink to a keeper of his quality. What saves were these?"
The Northern Irishman's sensitivity over Bell is perhaps understandable given his imminent departure, and the resultant hole it will leave in his defence.
Despite being powerless to stop Niall McGinn opening the scoring after just four minutes, the goalkeeper – as well as some hapless finishing by their hosts – was a key factor in keeping the score respectable.
He saved twice from McGinn, once from a quick snap shot and the other a low free-kick that left the keeper unsighted, while also denying Johnny Hayes, Josh Magennis and Ryan Jack in a fraught second half.
Still, it is all in a day's work for the former Scotland internationalist. "I don't know about that, I thought he [Shiels] would have praised me," joked Bell, who denied reports that he has already signed a pre-contract agreement with Irn-Bru Third Division champions Rangers. "There were saves I felt I should have made, some are more difficult than others. I was happy enough with my own performance.
"Nothing has been done at the moment, there's been talk about a lot of teams that most people know about, things possibly could be done in the next few weeks. But it's not something that plays on my mind."
Despite the difference in opinion over the challenges posed to the Kilmarnock goalkeeper, it can be agreed that the exercise at Pittodrie was still a productive one for Shiels' youthful collective. Saturday's starting XI had an average age of 23, with teenagers Mark O'Hara and Chris Johnston two of the Rugby Park club's best performers. The 18-year-old Johnston was a pest down the left flank, while his 17-year-old colleague did well to recover from a shaky start to steady a creaking defence.
It was a bit more obvious as to who was the host's best player – and by some distance. Fresh from his PFA Scotland nomination for player of the year, McGinn was pivotal in both turning the game Aberdeen's way, and holding on to a victory that takes them above Kilmarnock and into seventh place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
The transformation in the Northern Irishman in such a short time frame is quite remarkable.
In the space of a year he has gone from the forgotten boy at Celtic, not helped by year-long loan at Brentford, to the main protagonist in a Pittodrie production that has relied heavily on his 20 goals this season.
"It was a target that I wanted to reach at the start of the season and I've now made it," said McGinn, beaming with delight at his nomination for player of the year.
"I'm over the moon. It's a big achievement. To get voted by your fellow professionals is extra special."
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