Aaron Doran is craving further success with Caley Thistle to cap his testimonial year.
Irishman Doran enjoyed his testimonial dinner in Inverness on Saturday, just 24 hours after helping Caley Jags reach the Scottish Cup semi-finals by coming from behind to defeat Kilmarnock.
Doran initially joined on loan from Blackburn Rovers in January 2011, before signing permanently that summer, and has remained at Caledonian Stadium ever since.
The 31-year-old has been greeted with congratulatory messages from a number of former team-mates and managers, including Terry Butcher who brought him to the Highlands.
With Caley Jags to face Falkirk in the last four of the Scottish Cup, and still harbouring promotion play-off ambitions in the Championship, Doran is eager to make it a memorable campaign.
Doran said: “Everyone wanted the win on Friday, and then we could celebrate a bit on Saturday.
“Most of the squad was there, along with the manager and coaches, and it was a really good night.
“Personally, it’s a big achievement to be in my testimonial year. Hopefully we can bring some success on the field while this is happening.
“There have been a few messages. It was really nice of Terry Butcher, while John Hughes also had a message for me at the event, along with players such as Graeme Shinnie.
Great message from Terry Butcher 💙👏 pic.twitter.com/5HKwtTqqkn
— Aaron Doran Testimonial (@AaronDoranTest1) March 14, 2023
“It’s great to have those people talk about you.
“To be at the club for so long has been brilliant, and I just want to keep that going now.
“I want to work hard on training and on the pitch to try and play as much as I can – and hopefully we can bring a bit of success to the fans.”
Doran has fond memories of glory against Bairns
The Scottish Cup semi-final draw against League One side Falkirk instantly brought back memories of Doran’s greatest triumph in a Caley Jags jersey.
Doran was part of John Hughes’ side who won the 2015 final against the Bairns, with his assist setting up Marley Watkins’ opener in the 2-1 victory.
He is determined to enjoy another memorable day at the national stadium, with a final against either Rangers or Celtic.
Doran added: “It’s a big achievement for both clubs to be playing at Hampden again in the space of eight years.
“I heard on Monday night that Ayr haven’t reached that round for 20 years.
“It’s a tough place to get to, but we always seem to do well in cup competitions.
“I’m sure the fans can’t wait to get there – the players are the same.
“I watched Falkirk on Monday night and they deserved to go through as well, they play some nice football and are a good side. It will be a tough one.
“We have a lot of young players in the squad who have never experienced it, so it’s going to be a big deal for them.
“Myself and Danny Devine have played against Falkirk in the final, so it will bring back a few memories.
“Hopefully we can get a similar outcome on the day.”
Inverness hoping to push up table
In the meantime, Doran is eager to spark a run of league form to reignite his side’s play-off hopes.
Billy Dodds’ men are seven points adrift of the top four at present, with nine games remaining.
Inverness travel to play leaders Queen’s Park on Saturday, with Doran determined to build league momentum before the semi-final on April 29/30.
He added: “There are five weeks before the semi-final, and we have a lot of tough games before that.
“It starts this Saturday against the league leaders away from home.
“Queen’s Park are playing some really good stuff, and they have been hard for us to play against this season.
“If we can take performances like we did on Friday night, and the performance against Livingston, I’m sure we are a match for anyone in this league.
“We want to be going into the semi-final with a good run of results and performances behind us.
“We need to be taking points off the teams that are in and around the play-offs.
“There are still a good few games to go in the league.
“If we can go on a small three or four-game winning run, we just never know where that could take us.
“We did it towards the end of last season and we got into the play-offs quite comfortably, so if we can do something like that again I’m sure we will be up there.”
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