Connor McLennan

It has been quite a couple of weeks for the Dons teenage striker Connor McLennan.

After making his debut for the first team at the age of only 16, he is now away with Scotland U17s at the European Championships.

Connor became one of the Dons’ youngest ever players in making his debut at just 16 years, seven months and 17 days as a substitute in the recent 3-0 loss at St Johnstone. Connor was on the bench again on Saturday for the Motherwell game and then on Saturday night travelled south to meet up with his international team mates.

The highly-rated striker, who has always been highly thought of within the AFC Youth Academy as well as the Scotland Youth setup, flew over on Sunday to Azerbaijan with the Scotland U17 squad for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals.

Connor McLennan spoke to afc.co.uk before jetting away to Baku: “I’m going into the Euro championships on a real high after making my Aberdeen debut. Even though I was only on for 10 minutes, just to be on the pitch with the first team players has given me a massive boost in confidence going into the Euros with Scotland.”

Connor, who is from Peterhead and attended Peterhead Academy, has been with the club since he was nine and came from Peterhead Boys Club. He was involved with Jim Crawford's Advanced Youth Skills Centre and then started playing with the U10s. He represented Scotland at U16 and U17 level last season.

“I am from Peterhead and went to school there. I was 16 in October. I went fulltime in December when I signed a professional contract. I have been part of the youth academy from a young age.

“I am Aberdeen fan. My whole family are. I came to a good few games when I was younger. Obviously I was playing football on a Saturday so I did not have a season ticket but tried to get to as many games as I could. I remember watching strikers like Scott Vernon. That was the period I was coming to games.

“Obviously quite a few of the boys are still in the first team dressing room. It is weird. I don’t really know what is going on to be honest!

“I am a striker but can also play out wide. It is a little bit easier playing in a wide position because you don’t have your back to the game most of the time. It is easier to get on the ball, but I am comfortable playing both positions.

“This season has been very frustrating for me because of injury. Especially the first part of the campaign. I had a number of recurring injuries which I could not get sorted. That can happen when you are young as your body is still growing.

“It was hard because you just want to play football. Although I signed in December I have been part of the 20s squad all season. When you come in you want to hit the ground running so you can show what you can do.

“A day before I signed officially I scored my first goal in the Development League against Motherwell. That was a special moment. It was only my second game at that level. I played in the very first game of the season at home to St Mirren. That was my first competitive game for the 20s. I came on as a sub. So the match against Motherwell was my first start.

“It was also my first appearance after coming back from injury and it was a last minute winner and to make the goal extra special it was at Peterhead. It was a great goal. David Danga crossed the ball to back post and with a first time finish I looped the ball to the far post. I don’t think I could do that again to be honest!

“Like any youngster becoming a full time professional player is a dream come true. Especially playing for the team I supported. Getting used to being a full time player does take a while. It has been a lot for my body to handle. It is very different, intense training every day compared to being at school and training a couple of times a week. So it has been different and it is tiring on the legs but I am getting used to it now. When I get days off I have to make sure I rest properly. Also Paddy our sports scientist makes sure we are fit and makes sure we have some recovery time after games. Everything is done very professionally. We also have a great coach in Paul Sheerin who I really enjoy working with.  

“At the end of a season you never know what can happen, so I had to make sure I was ready if I got the chance with the first team. But I was certainly surprised when that chance came along!

“I was on the bench for the Hearts game and that was a great experience. The atmosphere was brilliant that night although it was very disappointing to lose the game. I realised this is what it is like playing for the first team. It was just good to get a taste of it. And then the St Johnstone match when I made my debut was a blur!

“I knew there was about ten minutes to go so I was not expecting to get on. It came as real surprise when Tony Docherty turned round and said ‘Connor get ready!’ So as fast as I could I got my tracksuit off. He asked if I was ready and said yes but my joggers got stuck! I think I just ripped them off in the end!

“To be fair to the manager he just told me to go on and play. I did not really have too many instructions so it was nice to have that freedom just to go out and do what I do. Obviously it was hard circumstances with the state of the game, it was far from ideal being 3-0 down but the only positive was that I was going on with no pressure on me. So I was not afraid to get on the ball and I was able to go out and show what I can do in a short space of time.  

“The aim between now and the end of the season is to try and get some more game time.

“I am away with Scotland so I don’t know how many games I will miss. It depends how well we do and how far we go in the competition.

“I am really looking forward to the experience of playing in a major international tournament.  We have a really good squad. Although the results in qualifying did not show it because we only scrapped through, I think we could do well because we have got a lot of good individual players. In the Czech Republic everyone was buzzing after we qualified. There is a really good spirit within the group.  

“I spoke to Scott Wright about his experiences two years ago. Scotland did very well that year. They got through to the semi finals.

“Hopefully I can do the best I can if I get the chance to play.”