Aberdeen defender James McGarry insists the Australian A-League is under-rated and could be a source for signing gems.
Left-back McGarry was signed by the Dons for an undisclosed six-figure fee last summer from A-League champions Central Coast Mariners.
Aberdeen triggered a buy-out clause to land New Zealand international McGarry on a three-year contract.
The Reds beat off competition from a number of European clubs interested in signing the 25-year-old.
Only two months before his switch to Pittodrie, full-back McGarry won the A-League title with Central Coast Mariners.
He played a key role in the Grand Final – a 6-1 win over Melbourne City on June 3 last year.
The A-League is the highest division in Australian and New Zealand football – featuring clubs from both nations.
McGarry said: “I think maybe the leagues are underrated a little bit and get stick.
“However, there are a lot of great players over there.
“It’s good to see players come over (to Britain) from there and do well.
“It’s not like they have come over and massively stepped up their game.
“It shows world football that the quality in Australia is up there and can compete at this level.”
Australia impress at 2022 World Cup
Australia qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They progressed to the knock-out stages, having finished runners-up in Group D behind France.
Australia finished ahead of Tunisia and Denmark in their group.
They would lose out 2-1 in the last-16 to eventual World Cup winners Argentina.
McGarry won the A-League title with Central Coast Mariners when triumphing in the final in front of a 26,523 crowd at the Western Sydney Stadium.
Within six months he was playing in another final – featuring as a substitute in the second-half in Aberdeen’s 1-0 Viaplay Cup final loss to Rangers at Hampden last month.
McGarry pinpointed one of the main differences between the A-League and Scottish Premiership as crowd sizes and atmosphere.
He said: “When you come over here to Scotland, you are playing in front of 20,000 people some weeks, sometimes more.
“The atmosphere is amazing, which is a little bit different to back home.
“However, it is catching up to that level.
“The whole atmosphere of football just boosts when you have 20,000 fans cheering you on.”
McGarry’s former boss Montgomery now at Hibs
McGarry’s former Central Coast Mariners boss Nick Montgomery has also made the switch to Scotland.
Montgomery, who led the club to A-League glory last summer, left the Australian outfit in September to become Hibs manager.
Asked if he remains in contact with Montgomery, the defender said: “Sometimes we send few text messages asking how we are getting on.
“I got on really well with Monty.”
McGarry targeting international call
McGarry’s Aberdeen career was hit by an early set-back when he suffered a hamstring injury in only his seventh game after the move to Pittodrie.
That injury came in the 4-0 win over Ross County on September 24 and ruled him out for 10 weeks.
Now fully recovered, McGarry aims to make an impact with the Dons, with a by-product hopefully a return to the New Zealand international set-up.
The left-back has been capped once – against Lithuania in 2019 while he was at Dutch club Willem II.
McGarry was recalled into the All Whites squad for friendlies against DR Congo and Australia last October.
However, the hamstring injury forced him out of that squad.
Now he is targeting a recall, with New Zealand set to compete in a four-team tournament alongside 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia, Egypt and Tunisia in March.
The tournament, the W Cup, will take place in the United Arab Emirates from March 22 to March 26.
Focusing on Premiership rise
But McGarry is completely focused on helping Aberdeen climb the Premiership table to reignite the fight to finish third.
Aberdeen currently sit eighth in the league table, 14 points behind third-placed Hearts.
The Dons do, however, hold three games in hand over the Tynecastle club.
The Premiership is in a winter shut-down, with league action resuming for the Dons with a Pittodrie clash against St Johnstone on Wednesday, January 24.
Aberdeen are next in action before that, on Friday, when they will face League Two’s bottom club Clyde away in the Scottish Cup.
McGarry said: “In the table, it is still very tight and we have those three or four catch-up games.
“The season is set to kick-off again.
“We know where we want to be and we have to win those games when they come and put the points on the board.
“I’m focused and want to do my best for the team on the park.
“We are just excited about the rest of the season and are ready to go.
“The boys are fresh and we worked on what we needed to.”
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