Long-serving Andy Considine will be given the game-time to say an emotional farewell to Aberdeen supporters.
Boss Jim Goodwin confirmed he will give the defender an extended run-out in his final appearance for the club on Sunday.
Scotland international Considine, who made his debut in 2004, will exit Aberdeen after the season-ending clash with St Mirren.
The 35-year-old had a new contract offer withdrawn last month after talks broke down.
The popular stopper is fourth in Aberdeen’s all-time appearance list with 570 games.
Only club legends Willie Miller (797), Alex McLeish (692) and Bobby Clark (591) have played more times for the Dons.
Goodwin has praised Considine’s attitude since being informed his near two-decade run in the Dons first team squad is set to end.
He says the 2014 League Cup winner has been ‘brilliant’ for the club and he will get the game-time to mark his contribution to Aberdeen.
Goodwin said: “Andy will get the chance to say farewell to the fans.
“We will speak to him on Saturday but 100 per cent he will get to play at Pittodrie one last time.
“And the fans will get to show their appreciation for him.
“Andy has been a great servant to the club.
“He’s been unfortunate with injury this season, but since we had the conversation about him leaving he has been spot on.
“He’s led by example in training which is brilliant and that’s the reaction you want from senior players.
“It will be an emotional day for him and his family.
“It’s a dying breed having someone so long at one club.
“He’s been brilliant for Aberdeen and they have been brilliant for him.
“He will leave with everyone’s best wishes and I’m sure Andy will be grateful for what the club has done for him.”
An emotional farewell for club great
A product of the club’s youth system, Considine made his first team debut in a 2-1 loss to Dundee on May 15, 2004.
He scored 41 goals in the 570 appearances – many of them important.
Considine netted in the 1-0 defeat of Celtic at Parkhead in the final game of the 2017-18 season to secure a second-placed Premiership finish.
Exactly 18 years to the day after his debut, he will play in the Red of Aberdeen for the final time.
Goodwin accepts how important it is for a long-serving player to be given the opportunity to say goodbye to the supporters properly.
He knows from experience.
Goodwin knew he was leaving St Mirren in 2016 after five years at the club.
He was only given 15 minutes in the final game of the season (2-2 draw with Rangers, May 1, 2016) to soak in the emotion of his farewell and say goodbye to fans. It wasn’t enough.
Considine will get far more than 15 minutes on Sunday.
Goodwin said: “In my last game for St Mirren I came off the bench against Rangers and I got 15 minutes alongside Steven Thompson.
“So I will try to give Andy a few more minutes than Alex (Rae) gave me.
“I would have loved to have started the game against Rangers as it was the last game of the season.
“It would have been great to lead the team out one last time, but unfortunately I only got a cameo at the end of the game.
“I will give Andy longer than I got.”
Season derailed by knee injury
Considine’s season was derailed in August last year when suffering a serious knee injury in a Europa Conference League play-off tie against Qarabag.
The defender suffered cruciate ligament damage after catching his studs in the uneven pitch in the 1-0 loss in Azerbaijan.
He required surgery and was sidelined for more than six months.
Considine battled back to full fitness, but was an unused substitute in a number of games.
🏃🏽😅 @AberdeenFC pic.twitter.com/oCXn2DqsaE
— Andrew Considine (@AndyConsie4) January 7, 2022
He finally made his comeback, and 570th appearance, when coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw at Hibs.
It was a brief cameo as he was introduced off the bench deep into injury time.
‘All good things come to an end’
Goodwin accepts Considine will be disappointed his Pittodrie career is coming to an end.
He hopes in time the defender will understand his decision in letting him exit the club – and come to respect it.
Goodwin said: “When I was leaving St Mirren, I had a similar conversation with Alex Rae to the one I had with Andy a few weeks ago.
“There was a lot of disappointment from my side when I spoke to Alex as I wanted to stay as I loved St Mirren.
“It is similar to what Andy is going through here.
“But unfortunately good things have to come to an end at some time.
“As much as I wasn’t best pleased with Alex’s decision at the time, in hindsight, I agree with the decision he made.
“Hopefully as time goes by Andy will understand my reasoning for making the decision and he will respect it going forward.”
