Ross McCrorie seems to be the clear candidate to replace Scott Brown as Aberdeen captain.
Joe Lewis wore the armband before Scott arrived at Pittodrie, but I think Ross should get the nod this time.
Giving Ross some extra responsibility might get even more out of him as a player.
He has committed his future to the club by recently signing a new deal until 2026 and Jim Goodwin has already described him as “future captain material”.
I wouldn’t give it to Lewis Ferguson, because he has made it clear he wants to leave the club.
The other option is Andy Considine.
He would be a strong candidate, but we don’t know how close he is to returning and his full focus will be on getting back to fitness after a serious injury.
It is a strange time for Scott Brown to leave the club.
There are only eight games of the season remaining and Scott could have been a useful player to have over this closing stretch.
Why not wait until the end of the season given there are so few games left to play?
We don’t really know what has happened behind the scenes and it was maybe clear that a parting of ways was best for all concerned.
It seemed clear that new Dons manager Jim Goodwin wasn’t going to offer too many opportunities for Scott to work as a coach, which he is entitled to do.
Jim has looked at the squad and he will realise it needs overhauled as they haven’t performed well this season.
He will want to recruit his own players who can play in the style he wants.
I’m not sure if Scott will be retiring from football or if he will pursue another player-coach role elsewhere.
It is a shame because I thought he gave Aberdeen a bit of an extra edge during his short time at Pittodrie.
He led by example in his performances against Rangers and showed the Dons were ready to put up a fight against the two big Glasgow teams.
He brought a bit of fight and grit to the team, but it is Jim’s team now and he has to shape it in his own way.
I’m not sure where Scott will end up next, but he won’t be short of options.
It would have been an asset to have had a player of Scott’s experience with the crucial run of games coming up.
A place in the top six is on the line and, if Aberdeen don’t make the top six, then they could be dragged into the dogfight at the bottom of the table, which they will be desperate to avoid.
Fortunately the Dons have quite a big cushion over the two teams below – Dundee and St Johnstone – but that can quickly disappear in a couple of rounds of fixtures.
Aberdeen have to start winning games. Win the next three and the Dons should be in the top six.
If they don’t, then it will probably be bottom six football for the first time in almost a decade – and Aberdeen have no divine right to think they can’t go down.
I try to be positive and look up the way as they aren’t that many points away from the European qualification spots.
But the players have to stand up and be counted, especially now Scott has left.
Scott’s departure will free up considerable funds for Jim to invest in the team. It is difficult to see Jay Emmanuel-Thomas figuring prominently under the new manager and he might be another player who may depart in the summer.
I remember when I first joined Aberdeen and Eddie Turnbull was clearing out lots of players he didn’t think were good enough.
He was keen to rebuild the squad, but he got rid of about 14 players and it almost left us short for players at the start of the season.
But it proved a shrewd move as he managed to get the players in he wanted and went on to achieve success at Pittodrie.
An entertaining evening awaits
I can’t wait to see my old strike partner and good friend Steve Archibald back in Aberdeen next week.
He is doing an event at the Tivoli Theatre on Wednesday, which I’m looking forward to attending.
He was a great player to play alongside and we got on really well.
That was just as well because we stayed 100 yards from each other in Westhill, so he was in my house all the time.
He was a great guy who enjoyed a wonderful career, playing for teams such as Spurs and Barcelona.
I’m sure the Dons fans who are going along to the event will have a great evening.
Meanwhile, it was great to see Connor Barron included in the Scotland under-21 squad for their upcoming Euro qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan.
It is the 19-year-old’s first call-up to Scot Gemmill’s squad and it is well deserved.
He has really impressed since returning from a loan spell at Kelty Hearts.
He has a great attitude and has shown he has the ability to play in the first team.
He will be joined in the squad by Calvin Ramsay and hopefully they can both play their part in two wins.
A big weekend for Dyce Juniors
Good luck to Dyce Juniors who have a massive game this weekend.
They play Yoker Athletic in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup on Saturday.
With no Aberdeen game this weekend, they could get a good crowd at Ian Mair Park for that one.
Apparently it is the first time in 38 years that a team from the North Region Junior FA has progressed to the last-eight of the competition.
It is the first time Dyce have made it this far and hopefully they can progress to the last four of the competition.
That would be a wonderful achievement.
Yoker Athletic, who are based near Clydebank, will be a tough side, but Dyce will be hoping to make home advantage count.
There is a lot of excitement around football in the north-east just now with Cove Rangers and Banks o’ Dee both going great.
It is just a shame the Dons aren’t doing the same.
