Taken from a recent Red Matchday programme interview:

 

The long haul from mid-January to May will be different for Aberdeen this season, they’ll be attacking it from their new training base out at Cormack Park.

One player who’s especially pleased about that is Ryan Hedges, for reasons not merely connected to the improved facilities.

“I live out in Banchory, which is about a 45 minute drive to Pittodrie, but a lot closer to the training ground which is nice! It’s cut my journey in half! Before I signed, I was told it would be ready for September, but we are in it now.

“The whole club understands the importance of a really good top facility, not just for the first team but the youngsters as well. They can see that the club has real ambition. They are putting a lot of money into youth development as well as the first team and you can see that there is a pathway at Aberdeen.

“That’s really important because I know from my own background at Everton and Swansea, that you need to see that opportunity at the end of it all when you are a youngster.

“I was with Everton for seven or eight years. They are a club who do things the right way. The grounding I had at Everton got me to where I am now. The coaching staff really had a positive effect on the way I play and the player I have become. Looking back, it was a really great experience.

“Unfortunately though, I did not get a scholarship at the age of 16, but sometimes you need that kind of a set-back to advance in the game. At that point, I had to think, “Do I want to be a footballer?” I decided I did and really knuckled down and worked even harder. I became more focussed.

“I was still in education at the time, so I always had that to fall back on. I was pretty good academically, but I always wanted to be a footballer and that was always in the forefront on my mind. Luckily, I have had that second chance at Swansea.

“At 18, I moved down there on my own which was a bit strange at first, it was the first time I had really been away from my family. It did take a few months to adjust but after that, I really enjoyed my time at Swansea. They are a great club and at the time they were on the up.

“Whilst I was there, they had a new training ground and many years in the English Premier League. I signed when Michael Laudrup was there and then Garry Monk took over. I was out on loan a few times, but it was always a very good club when I was there, with some very good coaches and good backroom staff who I still keep in contact with now. They are a very big club and hopefully they will get back into the Premiership soon.

“It is very hard for a young player to be given a chance in the Premier League, but to be fair, Swansea has been an exception. There have been a lot of players who I played with in the U21s and U23s who have gone on to make a good career in the game such as Oli McBurnie, Dan James, Connor Roberts, Joe Roden. There are so many who have played for Swansea and gone on to bigger and better things.

“I was at a club who did give players an opportunity but there was a time even at Swansea where young players were not getting a chance and you had to go out on loan to gain that first team experience. I ended up at Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Yeovil Town over a couple of years.

“After my first loan, you soon realise there is nothing like playing on a Saturday at 3 pm. For the U23s, you are playing on a Monday at 7pm in front of about 50 people. Once I got that real taste of men’s football and playing competitively, that was all I wanted to do and I was given that opportunity in 2015 at Leyton Orient. I wanted to keep playing so I moved to Stevenage the following year and then onto Yeovil Town where I played regularly and scored a few goals during my time there.

“Loan moves are a good education, but there comes a point when you want to settle in at a club and the chance came to go and play at Barnsley under Paul Heckingbottom.

“I had a year under Paul and I thought he was a very good manager. He left to go to Leeds and things did not quite work out for him there. Whilst I was under him at Barnsley, we had our best finish in the league for 15 years or so. I enjoyed playing for him and was sorry to see him lose the Hibs job. I often speak to Adam Jackson who is at Hibs – we played together at Barnsley. He said that they had been a bit unlucky this season but that’s just the game we are in, there’s a pretty fine line between winning and losing a lot of the time and it’s the manager who ends up taking the blame if things go wrong”.

The oval ball claims the attention of many young Welsh lads but for Ryan, there was only one game worth playing, right from the start.

“Ever since I can remember, I played football. All the photos of me as a kid, I have a football near me. I came from a sporting family. When I was growing up, my brother played for the local team and my dad was the manager. I was born into football and have loved the game ever since. Every Saturday, I was playing football or watching.

“I was quite good at athletics and went to the Welsh trials for 1500 metres, but I preferred football. Being Welsh and going to a Welsh school, I did play rugby, but I was terrible! I was a winger that never tackled! It was just a case of giving me the ball and I would run. Rugby is still massive in Wales, although it is slightly different in the north of the country because you have so many big football clubs nearby such as Liverpool and Everton.

“I went to Hawarden High School in Flintshire. Gary Speed and Michael Owen were both ex-pupils as were Andy Dorman who played for today’s opponents St Mirren and Danny Ward.

“Some of the teachers I had worked with Michael and Andy. It always gave you someone to look up to and to emulate. I’m not sure why they have produced so many professional footballers. We obviously had some good teachers!

“Danny and I lived in the same area. He was two years above me but I played up a few years in the school team so we were in the same side. Although he was a goalkeeper, he also played outfield because he was that good with his feet. I have always kept in contact with him and obviously, before coming here, I looked to him for advice. He spoke very positively about Aberdeen and said it would be a very good move for my career and he was certainly not wrong. He is a very good lad and is doing very well for himself at Leicester.

“Most of although, my dad was a massive influence on my career and still is. He tells it to me straight which is a good thing. He doesn’t wrap me up in cotton wool. You know yourself if you have had a good or bad game, but he is there to keep me on the straight and narrow. He will tell me if there is something in a game I should be doing. He knows what I am capable of and expects a lot, which is good.

“He has managed to make it up to about half of the games so far this season. Coming from Wales, it is slightly easier for him to go to away games, he is about four hours from Glasgow. He did come to Aberdeen for a couple of the European games and he was also there to see my winning goal against Hearts which was nice.

“I hope he can come to more games now. It’s been quite stop / start so far this season with the international breaks and now the winter break but now we have a run of games in front of us in January and February. We know there is much more to come.”