Bounce game with Ross County

“It was good for the players to get back onto the pitch and play some competitive football. I thought the game was good. I was pleased, especially for 70 minutes when I thought we had good control of the game and we created some good chances. We lost a couple of late goals; they were two very good strikes from Ross County.

“Both teams were making a lot of changes at that time and the game loses its shape a bit. We still have to defend that last-minute free kick better. At the same time, it is never about results in pre-season, it is about building fitness and confidence and getting that into the performances, and I could see that. I felt also that there were some very good individual performances.

“We managed to field a lot of youngsters in the game. Shay didn’t play because he has a little calf complaint. There was no McGeouch, Bryson and Ferguson. We only played Kennedy, Cosgrove and McGinn for the last 20 minutes to give them a little bit of a introduction to 11v11 football because they have been a bit behind.

“Some of the youngsters did very well in the game and it is another step to where we want to be. There will be another practice match at Cormack Park on Wednesday, and we will have another one on Saturday and then we go Tuesday and then Saturday the following week ahead of the Rangers game. Hopefully by then we will have some of the boys available who missed the game on Saturday getting some action.

Fitness Levels

“We normally don’t see the players for three or four weeks (before pre-season) but this is different, every manager is facing the same challenges at the minute. Players are probably picking up more littlie injuries than normal.

“There is nobody in the building, apart from one player, who won’t make the start of the season.

“Fitness wise what we are asking the players to do they are delivering, the trade off for that is there are one or two little knocks and strains but nothing that is going to stop them from participating in that first game.

Michael Devlin

“The one player who did pick up an injury on Saturday was Michael Devlin who pulled his hamstring 20 minutes into the game.

“He has never had any problems with that hamstring before.

“It is a blow for him and for us because he has done particularly well in the pre-season work. He hasn’t missed a day’s work, but he will miss the Rangers game. He will get a scan towards the end of the week and we will see the extent of the injury.

“We know that we need to play games, we know we need to play competitive football to get to where we need to get to but sometimes with that comes injuries. It is a fine balance at the minute. We want to make sure that we have as many players available as possible for that first game of the season but still do the work that we need to do.

“It looks likely that we won’t see Michael for the month of August, but we need to get the scan to confirm that.

“He is a positive big guy and he has been through the mill a few times with injuries in his career, so this isn’t anything new to him. At the same time, that ability to set goals and get back he has always been very good at doing that. Hopefully with whatever the scan shows he can get back a bit quicker. There is no doubt it is a blow. We have four centre backs in the building, and we are one down now. It just puts a wee bit of pressure on your training and we need to make sure that we are not exposing any of the other ones to any other injuries.

“We are cautious, but we still have to crack on with the work and make sure that the boys are ready for that first game.

“I always felt as a player, and it is the same as a manager, no matter how much work you give the boys during pre-season they are always a wee bit tired in that first game and you always have a wee bit of apprehension about their fitness. Hopefully that seven weeks of pre-season that they will have had before the Rangers game will provide them with the confidence to be ready.

Youth players

“I want to see personality from the younger boys who are coming in and training with the first team.

“I have spoken to them often enough now that it is not just about coming in and filling in numbers and getting through training, taking a breath and thinking ‘I haven’t made a mistake today, that was good.’

“I want us to remember them from training.

“I want them to come and earn the respect and the confidence of the first team and the staff. You need to go and show yourself.

“They are all good players; they are here at Aberdeen for a reason because they are good players. It is just now about brining that personality through their training and through the games.

“I want them to make sure that we as staff are talking about them after training.

“I want them to see everyday as an opportunity for them to be involved. It was a young team that we had out at times on Saturday, but it doesn’t do them any harm.

“You see the ones who grow with that extra bit of responsibility and you see the ones you have still got a bit to go. It is good having them here amongst us. Even with us having a fully fit squad and having senior players available to us, hopefully they can showcase themselves between now and the start of the season and show that they should be involved regardless of who is fit and available. That is the challenge for them. It is a challenge, but they have done well. There is still more to come from some and hopefully we can get that out of them.

Sam Cosgrove

“We got wind of it on the previous weekend and our director of football operations, Steven Gunn, had phoned me and we talked it through with the chairman. No bid was really encouraged at that stage. We didn’t think that the clubs would agree a fee. That obviously changed and it was a strong bid and a strong offer for Sam. When the clubs agreed the fee, it was over to Sam to decide what he wanted to do.

“It was maybe a shock to some that he wanted to stay but he has obviously got a career path for himself. He didn’t think that going to France was right for him. For his own reasons he decided to stay, as is his right.

“The club did accept a strong offer but Sam declined that opportunity to go over to France. He is now back with us and on the grass training and he will be able to start the 11v11 tomorrow. He has got a bit of work to do to be ready for the first game of the season and he is probably in the same bracket as McGinn and Kennedy to where they are. Hopefully all three can be influential for us this season.

“We want to hold onto our best players for as long as possible, but every player has got a price and the price was met but Sam decided that he wanted to stay where he is for now.

“From my point of view, I am delighted that he saw it that way and we continue to work with him and look for those improvements in him.

“I don’t think anybody wants to see their top goal scorer leave the building, supporters as well. It moved pretty quick in terms of Sam having a decision to make, and maybe that played a part. He maybe didn’t think that the clubs would agree a fee, but it was a strong offer. It is a league that I know and a club that I know having played over there but Sam obviously has a different view to where he sees his career going and he is staying with us for now.

“You never know that in time that a club might come in for him and Sam does fancy it. While he is here, we will enjoy him and he has certainly been a key player for us over the last 18 months or so.

“We want him to be that player again this season.

The Fixtures

“There are a lot of fixtures at the start of the season, but it does help with our focus that there are a lot of games coming thick and fast. If we can manage to keep a clean bill of health in the changing room and not pick up too many injuries, then having so many fixtures does not really concern us.

“Having as many players available is key to help us get through it so we have those options to change it.

“It will be a strain; you see down south that a lot of clubs are picking up injuries that they might not ordinarily get. We must prepare for the congestion of the games. Having that freshness in the squad and having the youngsters coming through and chapping on your door, that is the type of squad that we want to have and to help us to deal with the fixtures.”