I WON’T REVERT TO HYPE
Chris says he will let his football do the talking after believing his own publicity at Posh where he was hailed as megastar in the making
ABERDEEN’S new signing Chris Forrester has a new footballing mantra – don’t believe the hype.
In January 2017 the midfielder appeared to have the world at his feet.
Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony claimed Forrester was the best player in League One and would go on to be sold for “millions and millions”.
The Pittodrie new boy admits even he got caught up in all the speculation.
But last season it all turned sour at the ABAX Stadium for the Dubliner after he was frozen out and transfer-listed by Posh boss Steve Evans.
That resulted in Forrester’s arrival in the Granite City this month where he penned a three-year deal after the clubs agreed a £200,000 fee.
The 25-year-old was quick to point out he is not the new Kenny McLean nor is he looking to use the Reds as a stepping stone to something bigger and better down the line.
Forrester said: “I’m not a direct replacement for Kenny McLean. I’m me.
“I’m going to come in and do what I can do.
“I don’t know how Kenny played, I didn’t watch much of Aberdeen last season. I don’t see this as a platform for me.
“I have always been a player where it’s been, ‘Oh, you can use this club as a stepping stone’.
“I’m not using this club as a stepping stone. I’ve got caught up in that over the last few years at Peterborough.
“At Peterborough I was like, ‘If I do well here I’m going to get a move to wherever’.
“I’m not a***d with that now. I’m trying to settle down. It’s just maturity.
“People talk and I don’t like it. ‘He’s going to go here if he has a good season’.
“No – I want to win stuff here first and foremost. Whatever happens after that happens.
“I get a bit frustrated at that because in the last few years of my life I have listened to stuff like that.
“I realised myself to not think about speculation. It’s just come with age.
“It’s about believing in yourself and not believing in what other people say.
“I’m not going to listen to the opinions of other people any more.
“That’s the main thing for me this season – not to get caught
up in any of that stuff. You’re not going to brag your way there.
“People can say whatever they want but it’s you who is going to get you the move.”
The former Bohemians and St Patrick’s player decided to try his luck north of the border because he wants to be a winner with Derek McInnes’s Aberdeen.
He is hoping to push Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic all the way in the Premiership title race again as well as try to deliver domestic silverware.
Forrester insists it was the Dons boss who was the big box-office draw after making him feel valued again. He said: “I’m here to win stuff with Aberdeen. They’re never been far off.
“I think they were nine points behind Celtic last season and the gaffer is always pushing to get to that next level.
“Progressively, they’ve got better each year. This season hopefully I can bring something to that and we can take that extra step.
“We’re not that far off from beating Celtic. Aberdeen have been coming close, getting to finals and stuff.
“This year we need to step up our game to the next level and that’s challenging, getting to cup finals and challenging for the league. Celtic have dominated in the last few years but we have the right manager.
“He’s an unbelievable manager and can take us to that next level. My attraction in coming to Aberdeen was the feeling of being wanted again.
“The gaffer made it clear he wanted me, at a time in my career when I wasn’t playing so well.
“It was good for me to hear somebody say they wanted me, they fancied me as a player, and could see me doing this and that. That was the main thing, that someone wanted me.
“It’s vital for me to have a relationship with the manager and for him to see me as an important player.
“It’s down to me to show him what I’m about. I played as a deep-lying midfielder at Peterborough but that’s not the position for me.
“I played it well but I need to be involved higher up the pitch, getting goals and assists. That’s where I see myself, more advanced, even in a No.10 role.
“I had a purple patch in my career when I was scoring goals and getting assists and that’s what I hope to bring to the team this season. I just want to perform out on the pitch – that’s all I can do.
“I see this as a place to come to win stuff and be the best player I can be.”