WES BURNS

Aberdeen were busy with making a number of quality additions to the squad over the summer, particularly in attacking areas. One of those is Wes Burns, a player who might not have played in Scotland before but one who is no stranger to manager Derek McInnes after playing for him at Bristol City.

“When he was manager at Bristol there were a lot of positives for me. I got my pro contract early from him and then he pushed me from U18 level to U21 level when I was only 17 and then straight into the first team squad and, before I knew it, I was making my debut for him as well. It fills you with confidence when you know that the guy who is picking the team is behind you 100% and knows that you have the ability to win a game for him”.
All the same, is a big move from England’s south west to Scotland’s north east, and that’s made for a hectic period in Burns’ life.

“It has been a very busy few weeks since I first arrived in Aberdeen. I now have my girlfriend and my dog up here now, so everything is like a home away from home which is a good feeling. For me personally, when I feel comfortable where I am living, it shows in training and on the pitch. To be able to relax and feel settled when I go home is important.

“Of course, it does take a while to settle in at a club. I would say the last week or so, I have really started to settle in with the group. During the last away trip, I had to do my song in front of the boys. That was very nerve-wracking! I sang “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye. It is a very good song that went down a storm. There were a few dance moves up on the stage as well! I know there is a belief that all Welsh people can sing, but unfortunately my voice is terrible!

“Seriously though, I have really started to settle in with everyone. I am getting to know the city, getting to know what there is to do away from the stadium. All the boys in the dressing room are sound, there is no one that I don’t get on with. Ash has taken me under his wing being a fellow Welshman but all the lads have been very good to me.

“When I arrived I’d had about three weeks pre-season training under my belt and I did not get much of a summer anyway as I was away with Wales, so I was not massively away from my full fitness when I arrived here. But you still need to get games under your belt although the recent four games in nine days certainly helps!

“There is nothing like playing football games. When you have that sharpness, you then feel confident from the first minute and know you will last the full game so you don’t have to hold yourself back at any point.

“My fitness levels were probably a week or two behind the other boys in the dressing room because they came back earlier. The manager has said it is a process of building me up to play 90 minutes. So I played 65 minutes, then 75 minutes before playing a full 90.

“My first taste of SPFL action was against St Johnstone. It was a different game to what I have played in before. To be fair to St Johnstone, they are very good at what they do. I think we needed to avoid trying to beat them at their own game because they are exceptional at it. I think we were a bit unlucky not to win the game as we did create chances to score a goal or two.

“I hear that we conceded quite a few goals against St Johnstone last year, so it was good to get the clean sheet. I thought overall we did well defensively in the European games so we are looking strong at the back. You saw that again against Hearts. It was frustrating not to have won that one, but another clean sheet has to be a positive”.   

At international level, Wes represents another side who takes pride in keeping it tight at the back, Wales. They had an amazing Euro 2016, one that Wes wasn’t far off sharing.

“I was pretty close to making the last 23. I was actually getting my hair cut when I found out I was in the preliminary squad! I have to be honest and say it was a surprise. I had done well towards the end of the season at Fleetwood and scored a few goals, so I had a little hope that I had caught Chris Coleman’s eye but when it actually came around, it was a great feeling

“To go to Portugal and then Sweden with the team before the Euros was a great experience for me. Playing with the likes of Ramsey and Bale was fantastic. Garth joined us in Sweden and I spent a few days in training with him. He was exceptional. As a player he was at another level to anything I have seen before. It was very obvious that he enjoys being part of the Wales squad. When he arrived, he was very down to earth and had a good laugh with all the players and the staff.

“When the games were on during the Euros, I was back in Bristol so I was gutted when we lost to England. I had to put up with all my English friends giving me stick but I had the last laugh. Beating Belgium was fantastic and it was incredible that the team got as far as they did”.

There’s a healthy Welsh connection at this club, as Wes explains.

“I spent time with the Welsh squad with Danny Ward and Simon Church. I also got to work with another ex-Don at Fleetwood Town, Barry Nicholson. I got on very well with Baz. He did a lot of stuff after training with me; shooting, free kicks, crossing, stuff like that. He was a very good coach. I believe he was a very good player and he can still play a bit now!”

Wes underlined just how well he is settling in at Pittodrie by claiming the man of the match award in the League Cup game at Ayr.

“The most important thing was getting into the hat for the next round. We knew we could not just turn up tonight and expect to win. We knew we had to put in a good performance. I thought we did ok. We let them back into the game at the end of the first half which caused us some problems in the second half, but I thought the boys reacted well to conceding the goal and we got the job done in the end.

“It was one of those games where I was never going to score no matter what happened! I could still be out there playing now! I just have to make sure I keep getting into those positions and then hopefully the goals will come.

“St Johnstone in the next round will be another difficult game. We know how they will play but as I said, they are very good at what they do. I think we have the squad and the strength in depth to do well in this competition. Last season in the league we showed on our day that we can beat anyone. I am not saying we are unbeatable, but we are a good side when we get it right so there is no reason why we can't do well in this competition over the next couple of months if we can get past a good St Johnstone side”.