Maurice Malpas praised Aaron Doran for continuing to cut it at Caley Thistle as the wide midfielder gets set to kick start his testimonial year on Saturday night.
Irishman Doran will be joined by a clutch of his Scottish Cup-winning team-mates from 2015 at the Caledonian Stadium ahead of a special match and golf day further down the calendar.
Former Inverness assistant manager Malpas, alongside boss Terry Butcher, brought the bright-eyed starlet north from Blackburn Rovers, initially on loan in 2011.
Scotland and Dundee United legend Malpas was capped 55 times for his country and played in two World Cups and a European Championship.
The management duo guided the Highlanders back to the Premiership in 2010 within one year of being relegated and the club competed in the Premiership until their latest drop down a level in 2017.
Malpas and Butcher were in charge of ICT from 2009 and 2013 and Doran played a key role within their team. He has now racked up more than 300 appearances for ICT.
Doran never gave up in tough times
Malpas hailed Doran for, unlike many players in the game, refusing to call it quits when the going got tough and that’s been backed up by his long time at the club.
He said: “You tend to find players these days, if they stop getting a game for a period of time or they pick up a couple of injuries or a new manager comes in, they can be put on the back-burner.
“Instead of putting their head down and getting through it, players will often move on from clubs.
“Clearly, Aaron got his head down and lasted more than 11 years at Caley Thistle and all credit to him.
“He never had too many injuries in his first two or three seasons then after that he was a big player.
“He got me out of the dug-out often enough with some of the things he would try, but sometimes it was worth suffering the silliness about him and you reap the rewards after that.
“We played him on both wings and also as a striker and he just went out and played. He took people on and could whip great deliveries into the box.
“There were also times when he would pop up with goals when you were really struggling and we’d end up winning the game. He was a great asset for us.”
Key player for Butcher and Malpas
And Malpas recalled how the player put in the hard yards as a youngster arriving in the north of Scotland to soon become one of the first names on the team-sheet.
He said: “Aaron was languishing in the reserves at Blackburn, but we had heard good reports about him as we took him up on loan initially, although Terry’s intention was always to try and get him in for the longer-term.
“I think we were a breath of fresh air for Aaron and he was a breath of fresh air for us.
“Once he got his fitness sorted, which was an initial hurdle, he was fantastic for us. He had the pace and got us up the park and created chances.
“Once his fitness was sorted and he realised how the game was played up here, he was virtually a guaranteed pick every week.”
Doran settled well in the Highlands
Earlier this week, Doran signed a new one-year contract at Inverness as he continues to play a role in Billy Dodds’ team as they seek to get out of the Championship.
Malpas feels the player earned the fresh deal and hopes he enjoys the celebrations over his Inverness career from this weekend.
He said: “It’s quite right that Aaron has got a new deal and been rewarded with testimonial events this year.
“When I was up assisting Richie Foran several years ago, I spoke to Aaron and he told me how settled he was in the Highlands. He’s obviously always enjoyed the club and the city – he deserves everything he gets.”
Doran can still be handful for ICT
Caley Thistle missed out on promotion when they lost in the Premiership play-off final against St Johnstone last month.
Malpas is in no doubt that Doran can continue to have a say in matches as ICT aim to get back to Scottish football’s top table for the first time since 2017.
He added: “With the experience he has, Aaron will still be an asset to the team.
“Whether he’ll play every week or every minute is, of course, a different story. When he’s fit and bang at it, he’s a handful to play against. That’s always been the case and always will be the case.”
- There are a limited amount of tickets available for Saturday night. Email adtestimonial@gmail.com in advance for more details.
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