Vicente Besuijen has caught the eye in pre-season for Aberdeen, but don’t underestimate the importance of Jonny Hayes for Jim Goodwin’s side this season.
Jonny will celebrate his 35th birthday tomorrow, but he remains a key player for the Dons and will have a huge role to play in the new campaign.
When he came back to the club from Celtic, he featured more in a left-back role – but I’ve always believed you get the most out of him when you play him in an advanced role.
I feared the worst when Jack MacKenzie suffered an injury at Buckie in the club’s first pre-season game, but Mason Hancock’s appearance at left-back at Brechin on Wednesday allowed Jonny to stay further up the pitch.
He’s a wee buzzbomb of a player who will run up and down the line all day long for the cause. He still has terrific pace and the ability to stretch opposition defences which will be vital for his manager.
The end product is maybe not as good as it could be, but make no mistake he is a terrific player who terrorises opposition full-backs.
I’m really hoping we’ll see that Jonny on the wings again this season.
It looked as if we were relying on our full-backs to provide that width last season, but there was promising signs of intent and creative options out wide at Brechin with Matty Kennedy and Besuijen also contributing from the wide areas.
Dons looked sharp in Brechin win
Coming a couple of weeks after the first friendly at Buckie Thistle, the game at Glebe Park also highlighted how much sharper the team was.
That is why the excitement is starting to build ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup opener at Peterhead, and I’ll be making the short trip up to Balmoor Stadium to watch the team take on Jim McInally’s side.
The Blue Toon will make life difficult for the Dons – but you would expect Aberdeen to have enough in their locker, even without Ylber Ramadani and Bojan Miovski, to start the new campaign with a win.
They should be feeling good about themselves after seeing six players get on the scoresheet in the 7-1 win at Brechin on Wednesday.
I spoke to Neil Simpson at the club about Ramadani and Miovski, and he told me, putting their ability to one side for a second, both have an excellent work ethic.
That was music to my ears as that’s exactly what we need in the team after last season.
I’d be lying if I said I saw that from the 11 players on the pitch week in, week out last season.
Aberdeen are not good enough to carry passengers in their team. Every player who crosses the white line has roll their sleeves up and get stuck in for the cause.
Goodwin was a grafter as a player and I expect his team to be cast in his own image when it comes to a work ethic in the weeks and months ahead.
Stewart the favourite for captain’s armband
Anthony Stewart was the surprise choice to wear the captain’s armband in the Dons’ 7-1 win at Brechin on Wednesday.
The fact he retained the captaincy after the appearance of Joe Lewis from the bench for the second half suggests Jim Goodwin is considering an outfield player for the role.
It will be interesting to see whether the Dons boss selects Stewart as his skipper for the new season, but there are a few candidates in the frame.
Ross McCrorie is a player highly regarded by his manager at Pittodrie, and a few people have tipped him for the captaincy.
But Stewart does boast more experience in comparison to his younger midfield team-mate.
We’ll find out soon enough if Stewart is going to be given the armband permanently, but I’ve always regarded the captain as a ceremonial role at a club.
A manager needs 11 captains. The one wearing the armband is there for a coin toss before a game and that’s it.
Every player needs to lead by example, do their part and demand absolute commitment from their team-mates on the pitch.
Visa delays must have Goodwin seeing red
It’s ridiculous visa applications for footballers are taking this long.
Dons boss Jim Goodwin must be tearing his hair out at the delays in getting Ylber Ramadani and Bojan Miovski over to Pittodrie.
Brexit seems to be one of the biggest factors at play here, but a visa application should take a matter of days rather than weeks to be completed.
The Dons are hopeful Ramadani, who was Goodwin’s first signing of the summer, will finally be able to arrive next week – and here’s hoping Miovski is not far behind.
