Joe Lewis earned the right to leave on his own terms after calling it a day at Aberdeen.
I’ve been in the same situation the Dons goalkeeper faced last season – and it’s horrible.
To go from being one of the first names on the teamsheet to sitting on the bench every week is a bitter pill to swallow.
I experienced it towards the end of my Dons career, and while you can accept you are older and there are younger players coming through, it’s hard to make that adjustment.
As time goes on you just want to move on and try to get some game time.
Little room for sentiment in this game
I experienced the other side of it as Steve Paterson’s assistant when we arrived at Pittodrie in December 2002.
Peter Kjaer had been brought to the club by Ebbe Skovdahl and was used to playing whenever he was available.
But Steve and I had been impressed by how David Preece had done in Peter’s absence and we let him keep his place.
It was a new experience for Peter and looking back I don’t think it was one he particularly enjoyed.
By the end of the season, Peter decided to retire. His contract was due to expire in the summer and, at 38, he felt if he wasn’t going to play, it was time to call it a day.
In this game you can’t make decisions based on sentiment and we felt we owed it to David to stick with him as he was doing well in the team.
Sitting idle is hard to accept
Lewis will have faced the same dilemma at the Dons.
From being the regular starter every season to sitting watching from the sidelines is not an easy adjustment to make.
He turns 36 in October and is ready for a new challenge. Whether that is at another club or in a new role will become clear soon enough.
The former Don is reportedly planning on becoming an agent and maybe he feels the time is right to make that change now.
But it is clear he has left on good terms and his contribution to the club has been excellent.
That much is clear from the well wishes he has received from the coaching staff and his team-mates.
Competition for Roos is crucial
As Lewis heads off to pastures new, Ross Doohan has arrived to challenge Kelle Roos for the starting role at the club.
At 25, Doohan’s best years are ahead of him and I’m sure he will be relishing the chance to prove himself at Pittodrie.
Goalkeepers are a group within a football squad in their own right. They do their own thing at training and they are hugely supportive of each other.
They know only one of them can play, but it doesn’t stop them from supporting each other to be the best they can be every week.
Doohan will likely get some game time during pre-season to show what he can do.
Down to work for Ross Doohan 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/oFbrGrAQMp
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) July 8, 2023
Aberdeen step-up their preparations for the new campaign tomorrow when they travel to Turriff United for the first of four warm-up games.
We’re now seeing the benefit of finishing third last season as the Dons have historically been already playing or getting ready for their first game in previous European campaigns.
It is tough battling your way through the early rounds and the task is even harder when you are facing teams who are match sharp.
This year the play-off round is on August 24 and 31, and the Dons will have a full pre-season and some competitive matches under their belts before then.
That should be a huge benefit to the club in terms of preparation.
Adam Brooks should look to Dennis Wyness for inspiration at Caley Thistle
I’m excited at the prospect of seeing Adam Brooks in action for Caley Thistle.
I was intrigued by the announcement of his move to Inverness on Saturday.
I watched him score twice in a hugely entertaining Glasgow Cup final win for Celtic against Rangers a couple of months ago and he took his goals well.
At 19, Brooks has come through the ranks at Celtic and has represented Scotland at various youth levels.
He is clearly a young man with potential, but forcing your way into the Celtic team ahead of the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda is no easy task.
Brooks is at an age where he needs to go and test himself in men’s football.
Playing for Celtic B in the Lowland League is a start, but Caley Thistle will give him a platform to prove himself.
The Championship is a hugely competitive league to play in. We’ve seen that in recent seasons and I don’t expect the new campaign to be any different.
He is the sort of player Inverness should be aiming for: a young, hungry player who wants to prove himself after finding first team opportunities limited.
He’ll do worse than learn from the wily old fox Billy Mckay – who showed he has lost none of his predatory instincts after scoring in Saturday’s friendly win against Elgin City.
Caley Thistle have been here before, of course.
We can all remember Dennis Wyness arriving at the club after struggling to hold down a regular place at Aberdeen.
It’s fair to say that move didn’t go too badly, did it?
Brooks is hoping he can get off to a flying start when Caley Thistle face Bonnyrigg Rose in the first game of the Viaplay Cup group stage on Saturday.
It will be my first game of the season and I’m intrigued to see how the new-look Inverness are shaping up.
Malky Mackay the right man for the latest rebuilding job at Ross County
Ross County’s preparations for the new campaign continue, too, as they begin their League Cup campaign with a trip to Stranraer on Saturday.
Staggies boss Malky Mackay has a big job ahead of him in reshaping his squad once more for the rigours of the new Premiership campaign.
Right-back James Brown became new arrival number seven of the summer last week and it no surprise to see such a big turnover of talent at the club again.
It has become an annual event for County with nine or 10 players coming in every summer, some of them on loan, and then trying to build a competitive team.
It’s really hard to go to the well every summer like Mackay has to, but if anyone is equipped to do it, then it is the County manager.
I managed to catch an old Premier League game from England last week on a replay on TV and it was Cardiff City taking on Manchester City which was being shown.
There in the Cardiff dugout was the future Ross County boss.
It struck me that we take for granted the top-level managers he has faced in his managerial career.
There can be no better education to prepare you for the annual challenge of keeping Ross County in the Premiership.
