What a difference a week has made for Aberdeen supporters.
Seven days ago Dons fans booed their team off following a drab goalless draw with Ross County at Pittodrie.
The point was the first one collected in five matches following four straight defeats and it was clear the natives were restless.
Fast forward to today, however, and the outlook seems a little rosier for those with red tinted spectacles.
A win against St Johnstone on Saturday helped of course but it was the manner of the victory which was most pleasing – with a returning Don playing a central role.
The signing of Graeme Shinnie on loan from Wigan Athletic on Thursday evening was as swift as it was surprising.
The word from England was that Derby County were interested in taking the former Aberdeen captain back to Pride Park after he had been deemed surplus to requirements by Wigan boss Kolo Toure.
With Wigan rooted to the bottom of the Championship in England Toure needs to free up some wages to strengthen his squad for a relegation dogfight.
Red Army need no reminding of Shinnie’s qualities
Wigan’s loss has most certainly been Aberdeen’s gain, however, as the fanfare surrounding Shinnie’s return to Pittodrie illustrates.
Shinnie brings energy, drive, grit and determination to the Pittodrie engine room. He showed that perfectly on his homecoming on Saturday.
In truth it was like he had never been away with Aberdeen controlling the game before finding the two late goals from Duk to secure a 2-0 victory.
Yes, Shinnie is back and, he insists, better than the guy who left in 2019.
Dons boss Jim Goodwin has already pledged to do all he can to make Shinnie’s loan return permanent if his spell between now and the end of the season is a success.
No crystal ball is needed to here.
If Shinnie is fit and available he will make a positive impression on this Aberdeen team rendering the decision on whether to bring him back permanent one of the no-brainer variety.
Former Don’s strengths will be vital for trip to Hampden
His qualities are exactly what has been lacking since, well, since he left really.
Former Dons boss Stephen Glass tried to replicate it with former Celtic captain Scott Brown but following a bright start Brown’s years of hard running for the Hoops began to show at Pittodrie and he ran out of steam before hanging up his boots in March.
Shinnie is 31 and there are plenty miles still in the tank. But it is the mental strengths he offers which will be of most interest to Goodwin.
There is a reason the former Caley Thistle man was captain at Pittodrie. He was a force of nature in the Aberdeen midfield and he got that extra 10 per cent out of his team-mates on the pitch.
He is not a one-man team. But he can be the fuel injector for the Dons machine.
Aberdeen fans remember that all too well and will be hoping even if Shinnie no longer wears the captain’s arm band at Pittodrie, that he can do it again at Hampden on Sunday.
Can Aberdeen exorcise their Rangers demons?
The late collapse against Rangers at Pittodrie in December has hung over the Dons like a black cloud in the games which have followed.
It was the ultimate snatching defeat from the jaws of victory moment for Aberdeen; an unprecedented cave-in from a team which had given everything to come from behind to lead 2-1 going into the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Saturday’s win against Perth Saints was the first sign of those clouds beginning to clear and the timing could not be more important as the Dons prepare to face the Gers once more.
This time a place in the League Cup final is at stake.
Rangers are improving under Michael Beale but Aberdeen have displayed a canny knack for the big occasion in cup semi-finals in the last decade.
With Shinnie back in the fold Aberdeen fans are daring to dream some of his big-game mentality can help galvanise their team into upsetting the odds once more.
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