Aberdeen attacker Niall McGinn hopes a new season can bring a fresh start for team-mate Dylan McGeouch.
The midfielder missed three months of last season due to a groin injury suffered in October but showed glimpses of what he can bring to the Dons as he finished the season with a series of impressive displays in the post-split matches.
McGinn believes McGeouch has not had a proper chance to show why former manager Derek McInnes brought him to Pittodrie from Sunderland but has backed his team-mate to make a major impact in the new campaign.
He said: “Dylan is the type of player everyone likes to have in the team. He keeps the team ticking along and can play through the lines.
“I’ve always appreciated him but he has been unfortunate not to get the run of games he would like so hopefully he can have a good pre-season.
“We’re going to need that competitive edge all over the field.”
One man who will bring the competitive edge McGinn hopes to see in the side is new player-coach Scott Brown.
The former Celtic captain has made an instant impression at Cormack Park, Aberdeen’s training ground which will serve as their training base for pre-season, but McGinn is not surprised.
The Northern Ireland international knows Brown well from when both players were at Celtic and he expects the player-coach to be a hugely influential figure on and off the pitch following his arrival at Aberdeen.
He said: “I know Scott from playing with him previously and against him. Off the pitch he is a bubbly character who likes a laugh and a joke but he’s a hard working boy who maintains a high standard in training.
“We need people like that in the dressing room and he is a born winner. We need that in our dressing room and all the players are delighted to have the chance to work with him.”
Brown has already made his intentions clear that he aims on adding to his litany of winners’ medals from his time at Celtic Park while at Aberdeen and McGinn expects nothing less from the former Hoops captain.
He said: “You need good people but also winners.
“Don’t get me wrong you need that competitive edge on the pitch but you need characters off the pitch too.
“Scott has that aura about him and he, more than anybody, will want to be a success here.”