Wide-eyed Rae looks to reward fans

Sunday 26 August 2012

GAVIN Rae went over familiar ground.

Gavin Rae feels playing with two wingers can take Aberdeen to a new level Photograph: SNS

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Chris Tait

He praised his young club-mates, gave a nod to the manager, then acknowledged the fans. All rather prosaic, but then Aberdeen will take comfort from the routine.

The summer break ended an unpalatable campaign and brought breathing space to reshape the squad and instil confidence. While only four points have been wrought from the league ahead of this afternoon's visit of Hearts – which, coupled with a prolonged battle on Wednesday to squeeze past First Division Morton into the third round of the Scottish Communities League Cup, is a somewhat modest return – improved foundations have still been evident.

Nine players have been shed, with the precocious Fraser Fyvie the only one to bring in a fee when he joined Wigan Athletic. Even so, that has left room for four arrivals to alight at Pittodrie and they would not seem to have needed too long to settle in. Struggling to overcome lower-league opposition in the cups would appear to be a rite of passage for any player who wishes to serve Aberdeen.That they came through that tie is indicative of the changes that have occurred over the past few months and will help counter the encouragement Hearts will have taken from a rousing performances in their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in their Europa League play-off first leg.Aberdeen's discussions with the local council over decamping to a new stadium on the outskirts of the city have reached an impasse but, on the pitch, transformation has been far easier to effect. One of the more frustrating elements of last season's Aberdeen side, in both an attacking and aesthetic sense, was a lack of width; a robust strength diminished by a lack of artful players capable of colouring staunch performances with points.The arrival from Inverness Caledonian Thistle of Jonny Hayes and former Celtic forward Niall McGinn necessitated a tactical change, though. McGinn has been missing due to injury since the opening match of the season, a 1-0 defeat to his previous club, but the team have been able to refine a more attacking system. Last season's top scorer Scott Vernon opened his account at Cappielow and today a tired Hearts defence could be exploited."We have tried to play with one through the middle and two wingers. [Hayes] is really direct and it is maybe something we lacked last year," Rae said. "It is brilliant for me to have the two wingers as an option. It gives us an outlet. They have done really well since they came: Jonny, Niall and Ryan [Fraser, who joined in May 2010, aged 16]. The manager recruited well during the summer and hopefully we can crack on."That is the least supporters will demand. With Rangers absent, this season will be seen as an open audition for clubs to assume the role of second-best to Celtic for the next three years at least.Hearts, a perennial candidate as one of the strongest clubs outside the Old Firm, are weakened by their biggest names taking their sizeable talents elsewhere, while Motherwell and Dundee United are in danger of having their best players pinched before the transfer window closes. That has led to a growing sense that Aberdeen may well be the ones to hold sway."There is a lot of optimism and we want to match that," Rae said. "The fans have been with us through thick and thin. It has been difficult for them at times.."It was a conventional answer. But after years of having to respond to a number of more exacting questions there will be some comfort in that.

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Wide-eyed Rae looks to reward fans

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