I heard pundits waxing lyrical about the first half of Aberdeen’s 1-1 draw with Dundee United, which was played in front of Sir Alex Ferguson.
They were saying how good it was before it died off in the second half, although Aberdeen had a couple of good chances to win the game – they didn’t manage to do it in front of the great man himself.
There was an excellent crowd of over 18,000 and there was a much deserved statue for Sir Alex unveiled the day before.
I liked to hear new Dons manager Jim Goodwin talking about how proud he was to get the reaction and applause from the crowd in his first home match in charge and he perhaps didn’t realise how big a club Aberdeen was. He was taken by surprise.
He spoke about his move also being a journey for his family up north, too, which is quite right.
I really hope Jim is the one to get this club back on the right track. Despite being ninth, they are still just three points off the top six.
Jim has begun with two draws, so at least it’s an unbeaten start before the trip to Tynecastle in midweek.
Sir Alex won’t have been surprised to have got the fantastic reaction from the city and the club, not only for what he achieved at Aberdeen, but he also attracted about 3,000 Dons fans who would go and watch Manchester United when he moved there.
The tributes and the statue were much deserved. He knows that’s where his career really kicked off.
He split the Old Firm and took it right to them and I’m not sure that will happen any time in the future.
It was great to hear the statue will also take pride of place at the new stadium whenever that happens for the club.
Hearts away on Wednesday then a trip to Ibrox on Saturday is a real baptism of fire for Jim.
However, I think the fans are already seeing things moving in the right direction as they aim to catch the teams above them, having already been knocked out of the cups.
Jim will be using this time to analyse all the players. He would have seen them all before when he was St Mirren manager, so will know about them, but he will learn about all their different characters and he will be thinking of the summer and who he wants to move on.
The Aberdeen players will all be on trial right now. Apart from Ross McCrorie, who has signed a two-year deal, no one in the squad can be guaranteed a future at the club under Jim.
Not only will Jim watch them in games, he will watch them daily and how they all conduct themselves.
It’s great Scott Brown is still at Pittodrie. I’m not sure how it will go coaching-wise. I’m sure Jim and Scott will discuss Scott’s longer term plans.
Jim has brought assistant manager Lee Sharp with him and he will need a couple more at a club like Aberdeen.
It has been a whirlwind time since the new manager came in, with all the Sir Alex build-up ahead of the weekend, too. Hopefully everyone will get right behind him.
Staggies wide pair tore Saints apart
I was at Dingwall on Saturday as Ross County impressed once more in their 3-1 win against St Johnstone, in what was a huge game for the club.
It was a result which moved them seven points clear of the relegation zone ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Motherwell.
I’m absolutely loving going to Ross County at the moment. They are playing Regan Charles-Cook and Joseph Hungbo on either side of the park and they are terrorising opponents down both flanks.
Malky Mackay has given them a freedom and they are twisting, turning and entertaining. St Johnstone’s defenders didn’t know if they were in New Year or New York. It’s brilliant.
I’m delighted for Malky, who got a lot of criticism from some of the supporters before a ball was even kicked when he came in as the manager last summer.
I have known Malky for a number of years and I knew what he would bring to the club. Even through the barren spell, he insisted the side didn’t deserve the results they were getting.
County have some quality players and they’ll be determined to keep more clean sheets. They look as if they’re always going to score.
I must also point out the efforts of Harry Paton on Saturday. He got through a barrel of work and overall the side has a good balance to it.
Cove target final – and League 1 title
Cove deserve a lot of credit for what they’re achieving right now.
On Saturday, they came down from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Alloa, who have just appointed former Caley Thistle assistant boss Brian Rice.
It keeps them five points ahead of Airdrie at the top of League 1 as we approach the business end of the season.
Manager Paul Hartley has done a great job at Cove and it’s no surprise any time he is linked to other jobs.
Cove only came into the SPFL from the Highland League three years ago and they are following the paths of Ross County and Caley Thistle. If they can step up to the Championship, what an achievement that would be.
On Tuesday night, in the semi-finals of the SPFL Trust Trophy, they take on Queen of the South, who are bottom of the Championship.
I will be watching the tie with interest live on BBC Alba. The winners play either Kilmarnock or Raith Rovers, who meet on Wednesday.
