Latest news with #Dons
Press and Journal
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Richard Gordon: Kusini Yengi has the potential to be a talisman for Aberdeen but Dons need more attacking options
It is still over a month until the Dons kick-off their 2025-26 campaign, but the next few weeks are going to be vitally important, and give us a few clues as to what lies ahead. The club announced a list of pre-season fixtures, some of which will feature a Dons XI, others more likely to offer a better indication of Jimmy Thelin's preferred line-up. The first of those will be at Balmoral Stadium on July 12 against Cove Rangers, and it will be interesting to see if more new faces have arrived by then. So far, Jimmy has brought in left-back Emmanuel Gyamfi and three Aussies, goalkeeper Nick Suman, winger Nicolas Milanovic and striker Kusini Yengi. Of that quartet, it is Yengi who will be of most interest. Last season, Kevin Nisbet was the only one who looked capable of scoring on a regular basis, and even then, it took him until the turn of the year before he really hit form. Kevin finished on 14 goals, the only player to make it into double figures. Given what we have seen so far of the other strikers at Thelin's disposal, there has been nothing to suggest any will fill the void. That means the spotlight will fall on the former Portsmouth hitman. He was by no means prolific at Fratton Park, and did not net a single goal for the club last season, but his previous campaign was more impressive, and he has a highly credible record at international level, notching six for Australia in his eleven appearances to date. He clearly has something; it will be up to Jimmy and his coaching staff to coax that out of the striker. But he will need back-up, and I have to imagine it is an area the club is still looking to strengthen significantly. As well as doing so, they have to be looking at moving a few players on, and there are some in the squad who clearly look surplus to requirements. With the additional demands of a European campaign ahead, in whichever of the leagues the Dons find themselves, they are going to require not only a bigger pool, but one which offers strength in depth when it comes to quality. That will hopefully mean more game time for the club's most promising youngsters. Jack Milne proved in the Scottish Cup final he has the required attributes, Fletcher Boyd has obvious potential, and Alfie Bavidge caught the eye while out on loan at Caley Thistle, earning a place in the PFA Scotland League One team of the year. A trio of players – Adam Emslie, Findlay Marshall and Dylan Lobban – played more than 100 between them for Cove last time round, and I saw them develop significantly over the course of the campaign. Not all will get a chance, but it would be good to see at least some of them feature more regularly during 2025-26, giving the squad more of a local identity. The next month is likely to be a busy one on the training ground, and on and off the pitch, and by the end of it I would hope the team is ready for what seems certain to be a challenging and demanding season. The excitement for the new campaign ramped-up last Friday with the announcement of the Premiership fixture list. Disappointingly, the first weekend will see one solitary Saturday 3pm kick-off – Kilmarnock v Livingston – with a trio of games on the Sunday. Because of the demands of the television companies, and Thursday night European games, Sundays often now feature more of the bigger games, and that will again be the case. It will certainly be something the Dons are going to have to adapt to if they are to have a successful season. Getting off the blocks positively should help – although that did not exactly work out last time – but Aberdeen have been handed a tough start with Celtic at home on day two, either side of trips to Tynecastle and Tannadice. It was no surprise that Sky chose the Hearts game for the Monday evening, and the meeting with Derek McInnes will be some appetiser for the top-flight campaign.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Jack Milne wants Aberdeen Scottish Cup triumph to kickstart a new era as local boy admits achievement may never sink in
The young defender has achieved his dream with his boyhood club Jack Milne wants the Scottish Cup success to be the starting of a winning addiction for Aberdeen. Jimmy Thelin 's squad has returned back for pre-season fresh from their Hampden heroics over Celtic. It was the Dons first trophy in more than a decade and Milne hopes it will be the start of a silver-lined Pittodrie era. He said: 'It is one of those things, experiencing it and seeing how special it is. You just want to do it over and over again. Winning is addictive and that is what we want to do. 'Being from the city and all my family are from the city and are Aberdeen supporters. It does make it special. Every since I was a little boy it was my dream to play for Aberdeen and win something with Aberdeen. 'We have gone and done that and I don't know if it will ever fully sink in and we realise what we have achieved. At the same time we want to go again. 'We don't want to wait another 35 years to win (since the previous Scottish Cup)." The Aberdonian has seen first-hand the joy it has brought to the Granite City. He has admitted the achievement may never fully sink in as Aberdeen was transformed into a sea of red and white joy. He claimed: 'I don't think it has fully sunk in yet, but I have watched it all back a few times. My family were all there, a few of my friends and it was an amazing day. 'All the boys, I had no idea there were that many people in Aberdeen. It was amazing to see everyone together. 'All us celebrating on the bus and the bagpipes, it was so, so special. It is something I will remember for a long time.' The 22-year-old was a shock starter at Hampden and he rose to the occasion. Now he knows the challenge for him this season is keeping himself in Thelin's starting XI. 'It was a big occasion and I did well but it was just one game,' he acknowledged. 'It is something I need to go and build on. Hopefully, I can get myself in the team and stay there. I have always said that is what I want to do. I want to play every week and that is up to me.' The academy graduate has been working hard over the summer to make sure he hits the ground running. He stated: 'Everybody is different. 'I normally take two weeks and disassociate with football and let my brain rest. 'After that, I start getting back in the gym and back running and kicking a ball.' Aberdeen head to Portugal for their pre-season training camp at the weekend. Milne knows that will lay the foundations for the season and allow the new faces, like Nick Suman, Kusini Yengi, Nicolas Milanovic and Emmanuel Gyamfi, to be into their new team. The Dons have slightly longer to prepare as they don't go into the Europa League qualifiers until the final qualifying round next month. Milne said: 'It is my fourth (Pre-season) with the first-team. It never gets easier. It gets worse. 'The fitness tests and getting going you are a wee bit apprehensive, am I fit enough? Normally I am okay but I enjoy pre-season. 'It is tough and hard work but we spent a lot of time together, especially in the training camp. 'It brings everyone together. We know it is early in pre-season but it is full on and a lot of training. Everything we do, we do it together with the staff and team. 'The weather and facilities are good and it brings everyone together, especially all the new boys that are coming in.'
Scotsman
3 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
from Scottish Cup repeat to Euro glory
Aberdeen playmaker talks 'tricky decision' to leave Dons - and lure of playing at 'electric' Easter Road Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... New Hibs signing Jamie McGrath has targeted 'cup glory' AND European group stage football as he looks to make the most of his long-awaited Easter Road move. And the former Aberdeen player says his new club proved their status as the third best team in Scotland via the league table last season. McGrath, who signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibs in January, celebrated with his team-mates as Aberdeen defeated Celtic in last month's Scottish Cup final at Hampden – despite that shock upset making his new team's chances of European progress much harder. Victory at Hampden saw the Dons claim a place in the Europa League third qualifying round, with guaranteed Conference League football the consolation for failure at that stage. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Although David Gray's men have to navigate three rounds of qualifying just to reach the league phases of UEFA competition, Irish attacking midfielder McGrath – who played with Aberdeen in the group stages of the Conference League in season 2023-24 – is confident that they've got the quality to progress. Even if he admits that being drawing against Danish side Midtjylland represents a formidable obstacle. Hibs 'deserved' to finish third ahead of Aberdeen - McGrath And he's eager to take silverware back to Easter Road, the 28-year-old telling Hibs TV: 'I had a taste of cup glory last year and it was absolutely unbelievable, so why not? Why can't we do it this year? 'And yeah, we've got big games coming up in Europe - and you want to try and get at least guaranteed group stages so we can see how far we can go on that. 'It's a tough draw but playing in Europe in the past, when it comes to it, anybody can beat anybody, so we'll be going in with full confidence. Off the back of last season everybody's in good spirits so the boys probably didn't want the season to end last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Even early on in the season I thought the league table wasn't fair to where the lads should have been. I think they showed that throughout the course of the season. 'They finished third and they probably fully deserved to be there. And this is where you want to be, I think, at the minute. 'Looking in at all the scenes after games and Easter Road and stuff, it looked unbelievable. I'm really glad to be a part of that. Hopefully I can settle here and spend the next four years - and hopefully longer.' McGrath, who underwent shoulder surgery midway through last season, admitted he'd taken his time over committing to a four-year contract with Hibs, saying: 'Obviously, it's a very tricky decision, a big point in my career and, yeah, I think the main thing was I was off the back of that injury, and I was looking for more stability. When I spoke with the gaffer and Malky (Mackay, Hibs sporting director), I'm obviously familiar with the club from being here and playing in Scotland for so many years, it was kind of a combination of everything. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Irish midfielder vastly experienced in Scottish game 'I felt the direction the club's going at the minute is on a really upward trajectory and, yeah, seeing how the boys finished off the season, the place looked to be a great place to be. Now I'm just excited to get going here and getting comfortable in the city and finding my feet. 'I've kind of been linked a few times in the past and, yeah, I'm really happy to be here now and. We've some big European games to look forward to, so hopefully come through pre-season and everybody can get through it unscathed.' Equally comfortable on the wing or playing as an attacking midfielder, McGrath is likely to compete for game time in the No. 10 position with Hibs, the former St Mirren and Wigan player admitting: 'Honestly, I'm just happy to play wherever, be in the middle, off the left, off the right. I've kind of played everywhere so I don't really know how to answer that question. 'If I probably have to pick one, I'd probably be in the middle. But I'm equally happy playing everywhere as long as I can just give my best and try to get the wins.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Harking back to the famous six-goal thriller between Aberdeen and Hibs at Easter Road in November, identified by everyone as a major turning point for first-year head coach Gray and his team, McGray smiled as he said: 'It's a great place to play. The last time I played there was that mad 3-3 with us just before Christmas! 'Since then the place has just looked electric. So, yeah, really looking forward to going out and hopefully giving the fans something to cheer about.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'The club's on the up' - McGrath on choosing Hibs
Midfielder Jamie McGrath says the "upward trajectory" of Hibernian was a key factor in his decision to join the 28-year-old left Aberdeen at the end of last season to pen a four-year deal with the Dons' Scottish Premiership Irishman is happy to have "more stability" and is determined to help the side build on last season's third-placed what encouraged him to join the Leith club, he said: "The direction the club is going in, an upward trajectory. Seeing how they finished off the season, it looked a great place to be. "I've been linked with Hibs a few times in the past, I'm just happy to be here now. There are big European games to look forward to. We want to build on last year."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'It was always the dream to come back'
"Matured" goalkeeper Ross Doohan admits it was "always the dream" to return to Celtic after leaving the club three years academy graduate departed after 11 years at the club for Tranmere Rovers, where he had been on loan. He subsequently joined Forest Green Rovers and then made over 20 appearances for the Dons in over two years and made his Scotland debut earlier this month in the friendly win over 27-year-old believes he has "matured" since leaving the club he'd been at since he was a teenager, adding it was "the right thing to do"."The phone call with my agent lasted two minutes," he said, "just general chat for a minute. "Then he just asked the question, would I be interested in coming back?"I think I answered 'yeah' before he even finished the question. So that's how it really came about and as soon as I heard that I was just eager to get it done as soon as possible."I feel like I grew up here. I had been here since I was 12, 13 up until I left a few years ago. I moved school for the club, and went full time at the club. I've really spent most of my life here, so I've got a major attachment."I feel I've matured a lot, both on and off the pitch. "I've got a lot more experience, and I feel my all-around game has gotten better, so I'm just looking forward to getting in and working and showing everyone that."
