ANDREW CONSIDINE | MY PITTODRIE STORY

2014.15 season was certainly one to remember for Andrew Considine.

His testimonial year was a great success and he also made his 300th appearance during the campaign. With many good years ahead of him he could go on and become one of the top players in the AFC appearance list.

Andrew is a player who had dedicated his young life to Aberdeen Football Club. A true professional on and off the park. Here is his story that appeared in RedMatchday:

THEY USED TO SAY YOU COULD TELL YOU WERE GETTING OLDER WHEN THE POLICEMEN STARTED LOOKING YOUNGER. NOWADAYS YOU CAN WORK IT OUT FROM THE PLAYERS WHO GET
TESTIMONIALS.

How can Andrew Considine possibly be old enough? Yet for all Andrew’s apparent youth – and he’ll be the first to tell you that there are plenty more games left in the tank yet – the testimonial was thoroughly deserved award for a career spent in the service of a football club which, let’s face it, has been on a real rollercoaster over the last dozen years for fans and players alike. Andrew is a fan who was able to live the dream and experience it all right from the centre of the action.

Having played his 300th senior game for the Dons against Dundee United towards the end of the season, it’s all a long way from the days when he started playing the game as a schoolboy.

“I played with Banchory until I was about 11. It was at that age I first got scouted by the club when I was playing at the Aberdeen International Football Festival. They invited me to go in for trials and from there, I was a part of the Youth Academy all the way up to 16. My main coaches were Alan McInnes and Paul Craig. Paul was part of the Youth Academy’s coaching staff for a good number of years and worked with many of the boys who are currently in the first team squad.

“Also in my age group was Ryan O’Leary who went on and played for Kilmarnock. I think Bobby Thomson and Greg Kelly were the only other two who came in and became full-time players. The likes of Ryan Jack, Fraser Fyvie, Peter Pawlett were all a good few years younger than I was.

“I was an Aberdeen fan when I was younger. I have always supported the club and I used to come to a lot of games. When you were part of the youth academy, you always used to get two tickets to come along and watch the team on a Saturday, so my dad would always take me.

“As a player I have been through a lot of good times and bad times but as a supporter it was pretty much the same as well! The games that stick out in my mind are the 1995 Coca- Cola League Cup Final, I went to Hampden to see that. I remember the 2-0 win over Celtic when they did the train celebration at the end, I was in the family stand that night. I also remember Teddy Scott’s testimonial when we beat Manchester United, Beckham and all, on penalties. There are some great memories”.

The sad truth about youth football in the professional game, even among such highly impressive academies as the one we have here at Pittodrie, is that most of the youngsters won’t make it through to the first team at their parent club – indeed, most will drop out of the game altogether. Perhaps having a father who had already been a pro helped Andrew understand from an early age that if he was going to get over all the hurdles in his way, he was going to have dedicate himself to the game above all things.

“My dad was a huge influence on my career. I remember watching him play for Banchory St. Ternan. I have seen a few tapes of him playing for Aberdeen. Everyone I have spoken to said was a good player with a fantastic left foot.

“As boys, he would have me and my brother out playing in the back garden when we were very little. He would play a lot of football, we watched him play a lot of football. Although he was only at Pittodrie for two and a bit years, he was very successful – he won a league title medal. Seeing how successful he was, even in just those two years, it really spurs me on. You want to experience the great moments he did. Winning the League Cup was very special last season but maybe one day, we can emulate what he did in 1980.

“I would not be sitting here today without my dad’s help. He is the first person I will speak to after a game and he will tell me exactly what he thinks, he will not shy away from anything, and I value his opinion massively.

“Even to this day, my friends tell me that it is not a real job! But the amount of work and effort you have to put in to get to this level where you are playing week in week out on a Saturday is incredible. There is so much work that has to be put in. You really have to dig deep and get your head screwed on. There are also so many sacrifices you have to make. And honestly, I would say it is even harder for the young boys coming through now because there are even more distractions than there were back in my day.”
Among those few distractions back in Andrew’s youth were the golf links, another one of the great Considine family traditions.

“Growing up, it was always football and golf. My family are massive on golf as well. My brother was a scratch golfer and my dad played off three or four. My granddad was a scratch golfer at Muirfield, so everyone in the family played.

“We used to live virtually on the sixth tee at Banchory when I grew up. There used to be a little lane that we could go down so we could sneak on in the lighter nights in the summer. We would play a couple of holes. The best I ever got my handicap down to was six. I used to play a lot until I signed here. After that it was not possible to do both.”

With Andrew so established here at Pittodrie these days, it is surprising to learn he very nearly have landed up playing his football elsewhere.

“To be honest I was not offered a contract by Aberdeen at first. I was actually offered the chance to sign for Rangers. But after 24 hours, Aberdeen did come back and said they would give me a year’s contract so I stayed here instead. I had a decision to make but in truth it was an easy one for me. It is still up there as one of the proudest days of my life when I signed for Aberdeen. I had watched some real legends here so it was a real honour to sign and then to go on and put on the shirt was truly something special.

“It was pretty scary at first. It was still quite old school. You were frightened to even go and speak to a first team player, never mind go through the first team dressing room. There was such a level of respect. I am not saying there is not that respect there nowadays but it is different, the youth boys and the first team players mix a lot more than they did back then.

“Coming in as a professional, I remember doing my first pre-season with Neil Cooper. That was a massive eye opener! To go from training two nights a week to having double sessions and, putting it nicely, getting your butt run off! None of us were used to that whatsoever!”

Andrew’s innate professionalism and his determination to stand up to the physical challenge saw him spend plenty of time in the gym in those early days. He was pretty much left to his own devices and, looking back, wishes he’d had the guidance of someone like our current sports science guru Graham Kirk to guide him.

“If I have one regret in my career it is I wish I had more guidance back then and was told not to lift so many weights, because I was way too big at times to play football. I would say that it definitely affected me. Back then people thought it was the way to go. There were a lot of boys in the gym lifting weights. We used to do two or three sessions a week and I was in the gym every afternoon after training for up to two hours, battering weights.

“Don’t get me wrong you do need your upper body strength especially in the game nowadays but I was going over the top. I was way too heavy. It has helped me now because I have a good base but after doing it for six or seven years I don’t need to go over the top and can do more specific work in the gym.”
On the pitch, once he went full time, Andrew came on in leaps and bounds and he was quick to move through the youth ranks.

“During my first season, I was called up to play for the U21 side. We went down to play Celtic at Parkhead. I was only on the bench and I thing we got hammered but I remember phoning my dad almost in tears afterwards! I was buzzing. I had not even been getting a game for the U19s so it was a massive step up for me”.

That was early evidence of how highly Andrew was rated by the powers that be here at Pittodrie and it wasn’t too long before he was into the first team, making his debut in May 2004 in a 2-1 defeat against Dundee.
“I was on the bench at Partick, Livingston and then came on in the game against Dundee. Steve Paterson was the manager who handed me my debut. I will always be grateful to him for doing that. I know we lost, but it was a very special game for me. I played alongside Markus Heikkinen.

Although I remember what happened before and after the match and I can hardly remember the actual game because I was that nervous!

“I never really got to know Steve Paterson, Duncan Shearer or Oshor Williams as I did not train much with the first team. I worked mainly with Neil Cooper. I liked Neil and he was a massive part of my development because he took the youths and the reserve teams. He was a really good guy. He would not stand for any nonsense and he was very honest. And then after my debut, Steve left that summer and in came Jimmy Calderwood”.

It took the better part of the season for Andrew to force his way into Calderwood’s plans, his second
appearance for the Dons coming at the end of 2004/05.

“I came on against Celtic at Celtic Park and that was something else. The place was full, you could not hear yourself think. Nothing you are taught could have prepared me for that. People would say go and enjoy it and relax and express yourself – you have 60,000 people screaming at you, most of them screaming things which are not very nice and I am supposed to enjoy myself?!

“It was a very good experience to have as a young player because it shows you what is there if you do make it and these are the games you want to play in. It was a special experience.

“Working for Jimmy Calderwood was an important part of my career – but I used to hate his pre-seasons! They were very tough. It was two weeks of running, solid running, so it was very difficult, but you just had to get through it. Jimmy made us one of the fittest teams in the league, if not the fittest. We used to go 2-4-4 on occasions and just batter teams. We could do that because the players were so fit.

“Even although I was still a young and inexperienced player Jimmy gave me a fair crack of the whip. I have to say a massive thanks to him for letting me play in Europe a bit later on especially. He could have played all his experienced boys but he put me in the side and I had some fantastic experiences, ones that I will never ever forget.”

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though for, as is the way with many youngsters, Andrew had to gradually work his way into the first team picture, getting a game here and then through injury or suspension to older, more experienced players. Across 2005/06, he reached double figures in appearances before finally making the real breakthrough and establishing himself in the Aberdeen side in the following season.

That 2006/07 campaign saw him playing 36 games and he managed to get on the scoresheet too, his first goal coming in a 2-0 win at St Mirren in January 2007.

“That was strange because my dad phoned me in the morning before the game and said I was going to score two goals. It was incredible, within the first 20 minutes of the game I had scored two goals. I think I gave away a penalty in that game as well, which Jamie Langfield saved. It was certainly my day!”
2006/07 was the season where Andrew really came of age, playing regularly at centre-half. That gave him the opportunity to head off to the U20 World Cup in 2007, the last time a Scottish side qualified for a World Cup.

“Mark Reynolds and I were there along with Ryan O’Leary and Greg Kelly was one of the goalkeepers in the squad. Lee Wallace, Stephen Fletcher, Graham Dorrans and Robert Snodgrass were there so we had a talented side. Archie Gemmill was our manager and Tommy Wilson was the coach.

“It was an incredible experience. I was on the bench for the first game when we played Japan. They were unbelievable, so  fit, so fast. We then played Nigeria, who had a number of stars, and then we played Costa Rica in the last game. Mark actually scored in that game but we were beaten in all three games. We were so far behind, there was such a difference. It really was an eye opener. Thankfully we have started to close the gap and you can see that with how well the national team are doing. We are getting there.”

That first full season with the Dons provided him with the foundations on which he has so successfully built on over the years. As a youngster making his way in the game, he could hardly have asked for a better partner at the back that season than club captain and Aberdeen hero, Russell Anderson. Andrew is well aware of the debt that he owes the skipper.

“I really looked up to Russell. He was the number one centre-half. I would just watch him in training and learn so much. He would train exactly the same way as he would play. He was something else. To eventually land up playing alongside him was something I could only have dreamed about. To have that first full season playing alongside him was priceless and it stood me in very good stead throughout my career.

“He was a captain who led by example. He was not vocal just for the sake of it, instead he would talk you through a game. He was very aggressive with his headers and in his tackles. One of my abiding memories of playing alongside Russell was when we played Celtic and he sent Thomas Gravesen virtually into the North Sea! He is an absolute legend here and a fantastic guy off the park. I room with him quite a bit. He is a down to earth Aberdonian.

“That season we qualified for Europe, 2006/07, the year before Russell left, in defence we were very solid. There was Richard Foster at left-back and Michael Hart at right-back. No one got past them, they were both lightning quick. That made the job easier for me and Russell in central defence. We also had Scott Severin in front of us, so we were well protected!

“Ahead of him, you had players like Barry Nicholson, Jamie Smith, Steve Lovell, Lee Miller, Darren Mackie. There was a lot of experience in that side plus a lot of ability. Rangers and Celtic were both very strong back then but we had a very good side as well, a very strong team and that was shown by how far we got in Europe the year after. I am not sure many teams in Scotland could do that now.”

It’s hard to believe that that great European adventure is now some seven years ago, so vivid are the memories that remain, right from the outset and that epic tussle in Dnipro, arguably still the best team performance that Andrew has been involved in.

“We were always the underdogs because I think Dnipro were in the Champions League the season before. They certainly had a lot of European experience – they still are flirting with the Champions League or the Europa League even now. At a packed Pittodrie, we always have a chance because it must be a very difficult place to come to and the crowd really helped us in the first leg. I think I actually had a chance in the first five minutes but the keeper saved it.

“Even going into the second leg, we felt it was there for us as we had held our own at Pittodrie. We had nothing to lose going over there. It was a very hostile atmosphere in the Ukraine, the stadium was very old school to say the least, but we went 1-0 up thanks to that goal from Darren. They equalised and we were under unbelievable pressure, but what a feeling when the final whistle went.

“I can’t remember a game where we defended like that for 90 minutes. I don’t think anything will come close to that in terms of the way we had to defend and the boys came off the pitch exhausted, but it was certainly worth it. It was almost surreal afterwards, but it was the best feeling ever.

“That was just the start of the European adventure. It is incredible now looking back at the teams that we were drawn against and it was some achievement getting to the last 32. The Copenhagen game at Pittodrie when we won 4-0 was incredible. Coming off the pitch that night the place was absolutely rocking, it is a very special memory for everyone connected with AFC who was there that night.

“We drew the short straw by having to face Bayern Munich after that, but in the game here, we matched them. We should have won 2-1 as I still don’t think they should have had a penalty. Competing with them over two legs was always going to be a step too far as they had some incredible players, guys who have starred at World Cups like Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni, Toni Kroos, Samuel, Mark Van Bommel. I think they knew they would always win the game when they went a goal up, but we certainly gave them a shock at Pittodrie.

“We had some fantastic nights but there is no doubt that it did effect our domestic form that season. You see a lot of top clubs, it does affect them massively and this was all something new for us. But even then, we had a very good campaign. It could have been an even better season had we not lost the two cup semi-finals. Although I scored in both the game against Dundee United in the League Cup semi-final at Tynecastle and the Scottish Cup semi at Hampden against Queen of the South, they were bitterly disappointing memories and hard to take.”

From the European heights, those cup semi-final defeats were a signal that the Dons were about to enter a difficult period. Jimmy Calderwood left in the summer of 2009 after achieving European qualification again, ushering in the return of Mark McGhee as the club entered a transitional phase with a real turnover of players.
“We lost a lot of our experienced players. We did eventually bring in some very good lads – Mark Kerr came in, Charlie Mulgrew was there and Paul Hartley. It was a tough time at the club because we were not getting results. I got on with Mark and had no problem with him. It just did not work out, on or off the park. That sometimes happens in football.”

They were a pretty mixed 18 months under McGhee before Craig Brown arrived at the club in December 2010, a change that Andrew sees as especially significant in Aberdeen’s development.

“Craig and Archie brought respect back to the club. They brought Jim Leighton back in, which the club needed. You look at what Craig and Archie have both done in the game, it is incredible. Craig has taken the national team to a World Cup and a European Championships. Craig is a fantastic guy and it is great to still see him part of the club.

“Archie was the same. He would at times tell you exactly what he thought but as long as you respected him he would have a respect for you. I enjoyed them both being here. Ok we did not finish in the top six, but we were slowly getting back to where we had been. They did the job they were brought in to do and helped settle the ship. They were also unlucky in some of the big games we played. There were a number of semi-finals where things didn’t go our way. I got sent off against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final – to this day, I can honestly say I did not touch him”

Andrew enjoyed a terrific season the following year, starting every league game in 2011/12 and carrying off the Player of the Year award. There were to be more semi-final disappointments that season too but even they were put into perspective by what happened in the following campaign. Andrew was to suffer a horrendous injury in December 2012 at Dens Park and he had to show immense courage, determination and fight to battle his way back to full fitness. Without doubt the toughest challenge of his career, it was all a precursor to the achievements of last term under Derek McInnes, Andrew’s fifth manager at Pittodrie.

“The man management side of it, which is a massive part of the game, has helped the whole squad. There is an acceptance that if you make a mistake, you forget about it and go again. So within reason, players have a freedom to go out and play.

You are not terrified of making a mistake. Don’t get me wrong, we all have our jobs to do and if we do mess up badly the manager and Tony Doc will let us know about it!

“Football has moved on and there is a lot more to the game. They really have brought a freshness to everything. They have introduced a real professionalism throughout the whole club. They have also generated a belief. The manager has instilled a belief in every single one of us. Everything is so positive and that shows in every one of us on the park.”

That belief allowed the Dons to banish many years of disappointments and finally collect some silverware once again on that special day at Park Red last term.

“There have been many cup disappointments, losing semi-finals, losing to lower league teams and so I guess that made winning the League Cup last season extra special.

“Let’s be honest, it was not a classic! It was very tense and there were very few chances. I remember Cammy having a header early on, Niall having one in the second half, but that was really about it. We pretty much knew it was going to go to penalties. It had that feeling about it. I think the players knew, I think all the fans knew as well.

“Playing in a final is very nerve-racking. In most games you will have a few nerves before the game and in the first five minutes but once the match gets going, you settle down and concentrate on the job you have to do. You forget about being nervous and forget about the crowd.

“In a final though it is always there. Any slight slip can lead to a goal, so we did not play with our usual freedom but it was the same for both teams. I did feel that they were tiring and the manager took me off and put Scott on to try and win it before the end, but it went to penalties. Langers was outstanding in the shoot-out, making a fantastic save, and all the penalty takers hit brilliant penalties. You will not see very often five such good penalties.

“At least being off the field meant I was not on any list of penalty takers, I was more of a cheerleader! The only penalty I remember taking for Aberdeen was in the Foyle Cup over in Northern Ireland when I was 13 or 14! I did score, but it was so nerve-racking. It was a horrible experience. I would not say I would not take one because if you have to, you have to, but you need a certain steeliness about you and the five penalty takers at Celtic Park had that.”

That steeliness runs throughout the squad and the club and sees the Dons once again challenging regularly for the glittering prizes in the Scottish game. Happily, Andrew is going to be a part of that for quite some time to come.

“I am pleased to have signed a new deal for another two years. You ask any boy in the dressing room and they will tell you that they just want to concentrate on playing football and, with my immediate future sorted out, I can do that. I have grown up with this club and hopefully I will be part of many more memories and, fingers crossed, something special. The way things are panning out at the minute, the confidence is high and that is showing on a Saturday.

“We have had some real lows here, a few different managers so it is great to be enjoying the current set up. A lot has changed. We have some fantastic players in the squad and some great young boys and we have managed to keep hold of some key players, which shows the intent that the manager and Tony have. We are all striving to get that level of consistency so we can go on to bigger and better things.

“The stability in the squad is a massive thing. It can be quite damaging having a high rotation of players. I remember one pre-season we only had ten or eleven players and had trialists coming in from left, right and centre from all over the world. That was tough and far from ideal.

“To just have been part of the club for twelve years, more if you include the youth days, have been very special. I say this to every young boy at the club that I have spoken to, it is such a special place. Yes, lots of players have the dream of playing in England, with all the bright lights, but this is a really good place to be. The club look after you extremely well. It is a really good place to be, especially at the minute.

“If I can spend my whole career at Aberdeen, I will. The positivity around the place is phenomenal and this team is going somewhere. The fact the manager has got that across to all the boys who have re-signed recently shows a real intent and a real belief that Aberdeen can do something special in the years to come.

“I want to be a part of that.”

MY FAVOURITE GAME

Choosing your favourite game amongst almost 300 is not an easy task, but Andrew had no hesitation in picking the Dons’ League Cup win over Motherwell last season as the match that stood to the most and his goal in that match as his favourite moment. When he explains why, you begin to understand just why it was such an emotional occasion for the defender. It was a remarkable performance from the Dons that night, considering that Andrew and his teammates played for 78 minutes with ten men.

“Scoring the goal in that game at Motherwell was the best moment in my career because it was a moment when I felt I was really back.

“Breaking my leg the previous season was probably the worst moment in my career because of the hell I had to go through. It was the worst injury I have had. It put football into a whole different perspective. It made me realise that your career can just end so quickly. Words cannot describe getting an injury like that.

“At the time I could not move and I remember David Wylie coming on and I very quickly realised there was something seriously wrong. A lot of people said they heard the noise. I must thank all the staff in the hospital in Dundee as they looked after me very well.

“I remember getting back into the house after the Motherwell game and I just burst into tears. I had to work so hard to get back. I had been through so much pain. John Sharp had put me in so much pain running up and down those stairs in the lower Richard Donald stand and over the sand dunes in pre-season. I had been through so much just to get back.

“I had played a few games but I was back out of the team again. That night I was on the bench but Joe got sent off early and I came on after 20 minutes. We were doing well and holding our own against a very good side but facing the prospect of another 30 minutes of extra time with a man less.

“Then scoring that goal in the last ten minutes with one of the very few chances was such a great feeling. It was borderline tears on the pitch! It was definitely the best feeling I have had as a player.

“Who knows what would have happened if I had not scored? Thirty more minutes of extra-time with ten men would have been a struggle. That was up there with the highlight of winning the cup.

“I felt I had done my bit to help the team.”