Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says Dons reckons number one Joe Lewis is the best goalkeeper he has worked with.
The 29-year-old has played every minute of the season so far and was one of the team’s best performers during the opening half of the campaign.
Lewis, who joined the Dons from Cardiff City in the summer, took his clean sheet tally for the season to 10 in his side’s 1-0 win at Hearts at Tynecastle on December 30.
McInnes feels he is fortunate to have the goalkeeper, who was called up to the England squad in 2008 during Fabio Capello’s time in charge, at his disposal.
The Aberdeen manager said: “He is different class and as good as any goalkeeper I have worked with in the past.
“At set-plays when you see 12 players all six-foot-plus in the six-yard box, Joe is still there with a commanding presence and comes out to take the ball.
“He gives us that quiet assurance that you want from a goalkeeper.
“He is loud when he needs to be loud and quiet when he needs to be quiet, sometimes goalkeepers are the other way about. Thankfully, he is not one of them. He has been fantastic.”
Lewis and his team-mates return to duty tomorrow when the Dons travel to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp ahead of their return to action in the Scottish Cup fourth round against Stranraer at Pittodrie on January 20.
McInnes hopes his players will return refreshed after their break.
He said: “We wanted the players to get away and switch off. It was important they get that rest time and get some time away with their families.
“It is important they re-energise themselves for when they come back.
“We are grateful for the gesture by our club sponsor Saltire Energy which has allowed us to go to Dubai.
“We will go there and get some good work done.
“It will not be like a mini pre-season. It will just be a chance to get the legs moving again and there will be plenty of training sessions.
“It is also an opportunity to refocus for the second half of the season in decent conditions but our immediate focus is on ensuring we are ready for Stranraer.”