SAYS ABERDEEN NEW BOY STEVIE MAY
STEVIE MAY is a striker the Aberdeen fans used to love to hate.
Now with his long-awaited £300,000 move from Preston North End to Pittodrie the former St Johnstone goal grabber has set his sights on becoming a Pittodrie hero.
Nurtured at McDiarmid Park under Reds boss Derek McInnes, he is happy to cut his losses after an £800,000 move from Perth to Sheffield Wednesday in 2014.
May, who will wear No.83 for Aberdeen to mark the 1983 European Cup-Winners’ Cup triumph over Real Madrid, revealed McInnes had been trying to secure his signature since soon after his transfer to Hillsborough.
And he thanked Preston manager Alex Neil for helping to bring his English Championship stay to an end.
When Aberdeen face Ross County at Dingwall today May hopes to hear cheers of encouragement from a 2000-strong travelling support.
He said: “It has been in the pipeline for longer than people probably know.
“It goes back for a few years, even when I was at Sheffield Wednesday there was talk of it happening. To finally get it over the line is good and I am excited to get started.” May was the target for Aberdeen supporters after hitting two goals for the Saints when they pipped the Dons 2-1 in the 2014 Scottish Cup semi-final before going on to lift the trophy with a 2-0 win over Dundee United. And he said: “It wasn’t just them who didn’t like me. Most fans didn’t like me for a number of reasons. “My dad used to always say if the opposition fans are on your back it is a good thing. “I’m sure the famous song they sang about me will come out once or twice. That is all fun and games and I will support that. “The Scottish Cup semi-final was a good day for me. I’m sure the Aberdeen supporters wished it never happened. Now the shoe is on the other foot and I want it to be Aberdeen going into cup finals.” May also praised Neil, who managed him during a seasonlong loan at Hamilton, for allowing him to follow his Dons dream. Neil, just weeks in the job after his sacking by Norwich in March, had to assess his Preston squad before making a decision on the future of the player.
But McInnes’s persistence in aiming to get his man paid off and the deal went through.
May said: “Alex and me had discussions about how many games I needed in me because it had been a couple of years since I had played a good amount of football.
“In the end he said it was as much for me as for them.
“He couldn’t guarantee me the games I need which is understandable.
“Alex told me it was for my best interests and I agreed. In fact the first conversation I had with Alex was telling him I wanted to go to Aberdeen.”
May hopes the fact he’s wearing No. 83 will show the fans how keen he was to make the move north.
The attacker said: “That was something the club put to me. I’d no real significance with any number. If it is something that puts a smile on the face of the fans or it helps get an extra few shirts off the rails it is a good thing.”
Meanwhile, McInnes has described the transfer as “a brilliant piece of business” but warned the Pittodrie transfer kitty, boosted by the £1.3million sale of Jonny Hayes to Celtic, is now empty.
And he insisted the frontman’s injury problems since he left St Johnstone for Sheffield Wednesday three years ago was never going to prevent the deal going through. The Dons boss said: “I’m well aware of his qualities and managers are always drawn to players they’ve worked with before because every signing has an element of risk.
“But when you’ve already worked with a player you have more confidence and more trust in what you’re going to get.
“I’d no hesitation regarding injuries. We’ve done a thorough medical as you’d expect. But the injuries haven’t put me off.
“It’s a brilliant piece of business for the club. The money is spent but I do think we have spent what was available wisely and added real value to the team.
“There are a couple of loan players in Greg Stewart from Birmingham and Ryan Christie from Celtic and ideally we’d have bought both. We are really pleased with the diversity and flexibility in the squad now.”
My dad used to say if the opposition fans are on your back then it’s a good thing
STEVIE MAY ‘Never mind McStay, Tierney’s the best thing to come through Celtic’s system since Dalglish. His goal was jaw-dropping stuff’
Kilmarnock and Celtic cruised it. I remember when Martin O’Neill tried to be too clever and made nine changes and Celtic lost to Inverness in the Cup and I never forgave him for that.”
Tierney may be arguably world class but one man who isn’t is Rangers defender Bruno Alves according to
He said: “So Alves is world class? Rangers fans are easily pleased.
“A dodgy win at Fir Park when Alves was posted missing for the Motherwell equaliser and a goal against a cardboard cut-out keeper from a lower division.
“To think the Rangers fans used to argue about Henrik Larsson being world class. Nobody else wanted Alves as he is over the hill.”
said: “It didn’t take long for the Graham Dorrans for Scotland brigade to come out in force. A deflected goal and a penalty against Motherwell and suddenly Dorrans is a world beater.
“Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong have more ability in their sleep than this Norwich reject has ever had. These jokers are setting themselves up for a serious slap down from the invincibles.”
Meanwhile, in to slam Reds boss Derek McInnes.
He said: “What kind of message is McInnes sending out when he has already conceded the title to Celtic before a ball has even been kicked this season?
“It is shameful Aberdeen have caved in and it shows the true state of Scottish football. I would actually sack McInnes for those terrible remarks.”
Finally praised our on-line sports editor Darren Cooney and said: ”I really enjoyed Darren’s piece on the obscene amounts paid to players. I disagree, however, with his assertion you cannot blame the players.
“Two players, Scott McDonald and Fraser Fyvie, pushed their luck with Neil Lennon and lost out on contracts with Hibs. Now they are both facing a season in the Championship. It is the players’ fault entirely.” rang