Aberdeen defender Mark Reynolds has called manager Derek McInnes a miracle-worker for bringing Ryan Christie back to the club, calling the on-loan Celtic attacker one of the best players that he has ever worked with.
Reynolds was taken aback by the quality Christie showed in his spell at Pittodrie in the second half of last season, and presumed that when he went back to Celtic Park in the summer it would be the last he would see him in a red jersey.
But he was pleasantly surprised that the champions allowed him to come back to the north-east to continue his development, and he has backed the youngster to go on and make an impact not only at Celtic, but at a higher level.
“I can’t say how highly I rate him,” Reynolds said. “It’s hard to understand how good the Celtic players must be at training if he gets sent out on loan.
“He’s certainly one of the best players I’ve ever worked with. He’s unbelievable technically; he sees passes and you can give him the ball in tight situations and he’ll get out of them.
“Ryan’s right foot is a wand and the things he does at training are even better than what he does during games. It’s ridiculous at times.
“We shouldn’t like him because he’s such an amazing player but he’s also a great guy so you can’t resent him.
“He’ll kick on and play at a higher level. He’s a great footballer and it was a massive boost for us to get him back here for another season. Everyone in the dressing room was delighted.
“It was something we thought would never happen again – much like Celtic probably believed that Patrick Roberts wouldn’t come back – but we’re thrilled to have him.”
“He did so well for us last season I thought it would be nearly impossible to get him back but the manager’s worked miracles to do just that.”
Despite losing key players like Niall McGinn and Jonny Hayes, and a disappointing early exit in the Europa League, Reynolds believes that this Aberdeen squad is just as capable as those who have gone before it in recent years.
He said: “We still kept the core of our team and the manager has his way of playing and the style he wants and it’s been easier for the new lads because there are so many of us still here – it helps them to gel quicker and buy into it.
“The gaffer always signs good players but he also brings in boys who are right for the changing room as well. They fit right in so there are never any issues. We’re going from strength to strength in that regard.
“We’ve signed well – the gaffer has always gone for quality over quantity and brought in players who can challenge for a place in the starting 11.
“The squad’s a bit neater and we’re carrying fewer players but we’ve definitely got as much quality – of not more – than we’ve ever had.”
After dispatching one Lanarkshire side from the Betfred Cup on Wedensday night in Hamilton, Aberdeen pulled Reynold’s old club Motherwell out of the hat in the quarter-finals.
And the defender knows it will be a tough assignment when he returns to the ground where it all began for him.
“You always want a home draw but this is a team that’s capable of going away and getting a result,” he said. “Motherwell have made a lot of changes this summer so it’ll be a hard game for us.
“We definitely want to be involved in cup finals and we’ve always said that but we won’t start looking too far ahead. If we were to talk about a third cup final when we’re only in the last eight that would be disrespectful to Motherwell, as if we’re just dismissing them.
“We can start talking about the final if and when we win a semi-final.”
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