Stewart is hoping to be born again under Dons gaffer McInnes
GAVIN BERRY
sport@dailyrecord.co.uk like, ‘What’s going on here?’ It’s a crazy world. Nobody’s job is safe in England with all these new owners and the money is unbelievable.
“It’s a different world. When different managers come in they bring in new coaching staff and everything changes.
“Derek McInnes could have left a few weeks ago but didn’t want to and I’m delighted he’s here because I’d like to work under him.
“He could have done well in England and still be out a job! You could also go down there for the money but h e didn’t feel it was the right move. Last season when I was down south Aberdeen were brilliant so it was always a place I felt I’d like to go if it didn’t work out at Birmingham. “It’s always good when you get that wanted feeling from someone. It’s like that in any job – when you feel wanted you feel good about yourself. The manager tried to get a deal sorted last summer but couldn’t agree anything with Dundee and I went down south and it didn’t work out too well. “But you can’t turn down the chance to go and play in England. It’s everyone’s dream when you’re a young boy to go and play in the Premier League. “I would say boys are stronger and more physical and the tempo is quicker. You get more time on the ball in Scotland and I struggled with that part. “I felt I was a wee bit behind because I joined late in the transfer window and if I got a pre-season in me I could have shown a lot more. “Now I want to prove a point to myself. I was frustrated not to get a run of games at Birmingham. It’s always difficult when you go to a team doing well. “I struggled to get in at the start but I came off the bench a few times and felt I was contributing but then I’d find myself out of the team. When you go to a new club it’s important to score quickly and the longer you go without getting a goal you probably think about it more.
“I keep believing in what I’m good at and working hard as that paid off when I was at Dundee.”
Stewart was a target for former club Dundee, Motherwell and Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibs but the Dons were his top choice with the added incentive of European football.
Aberdeen have been drawn against Ordabasy Shymkent of Kazakhastan or Bosnians NK Siroki Brijeg as they bid to reach the Europa League group stage.
And despite struggling in England, Stewart believes his time south of the border will have helped him as he looks to get his career back on track.
He said: “You get ups and downs in football and hopefully I can learn from that and show what I’ve got.
“I’ve not even thought beyond this season.
“I just want to get fit, get games, get my match sharpness back and prove a point to myself because last season was so disappointing.
“I’m happy to get something sorted early instead of it dragging on through the summer.
“I just want to focus on the next year.
“I don’t see why we can’t do as well as we did last season. Celtic were unbelievable and didn’t lose a game. It will be hard to top that but I don’t see why we can’t improve.
“European football is always a bonus. I’ve never played in Europe but you always want to do that and I’m looking forward to that chance.
“I’ve played against the manager and he knows what I can do. He kept in touch with me and we didn’t set targets beyond this season.
“Last season was disappointing for me and he’s looking to get the best out of me and hopefully we can achieve that. I kept reading ‘x’ amount of clubs wanted me but I don’t know how far they got to agreeing anything with Birmingham and Aberdeen was the only one I really got the chance to
speak to.”
Derek could have gone down to England and done well and still got axe GREG STEWART