I’ll be your middle man
McGinn would play up front to end Dons’ goal drought
NIALL McGINN has admitted he would love to play through the middle again to help get Aberdeen back on the goal trail.
The Dons head to Ibrox tonight knowing their lack of firepower this season has been a major issue.
Aberdeen have netted only 16 goals in 13 league games and this lack of cutting edge has been a constant headache for Derek McInnes’s side.
Gary Mackay-Steven is top scorer with six goals but he is ruled out after suffering concussion in Sunday’s Betfred Cup Final.
Strikers Sam Cosgrove, James Wilson and Bruce Anderson have scored two goals each this campaign. Stevie May has chipped in with one strike.
McGinn is another with only one goal to his name but the Northern Irishman has enjoyed a prolific spell in the past when used as a main striker.
This campaign he has played in a now familiar role on the wing but five seasons ago he managed 21 goals in 40 games when fielded up top by Craig Brown.
And McGinn would be happy to try to turn back the clock if boss McInnes is willing to give him a go in a position he feels brought out the best in him.
The 31-year-old said: “If I was asked to play through the middle again would I do it? Yes I would.
“If that opportunity came along I would try to grab it with both hands.
“I enjoyed it. Even when you aren’t having a great game you still get chances.
“My first season under Brown I enjoyed it immensely. I scored a lot of goals and played with a lot of freedom.
“If I’m ever asked to play striker I would do it with no qualms, I would go out there and do a job for the team. It might be an option for the manager in the future but it’s his decision.
“As long as I’m in the team I’m happy. It’s been difficult for us as a team maybe not scoring as many as we’re used to.
“Hopefully with having this many games coming up in the next three or four weeks that can be the start of us scoring.
“You know going to Ibrox opportunities might be limited but we have to start taking them when they do come. If we don’t we’re going to find ourselves falling down the league and that’s not where we want to be. Their home form has been magnificent and they have looked strong in Europe.
“We know it is going to be a massive ask and it may take a bit more than the semi-final as they have their strikers back.
“We are going to need to be on our toes defensively but we have won at Ibrox before. We weren’t at our best at the start of the season but we managed
It’s going to be a tough game but one that requires no motivation after losing a cup final
NIALL McGINN
to grind out a 1-1 draw. The semi-final was a classic example of us defending very well and taking our chance.
“It is going to be very tough game but one that requires no motivation after losing a cup final.”
Aberdeen lie seventh in the table and the team that has finished the last four seasons as runners-up to Celtic in the Premiership know December is a huge month for their ambitions to climb the rankings.
After Ibrox tonight, five of the next seven games are at Pittodrie and McGinn says it time for the Dons to put their foot on the gas.
The wideman said: “We need to go for three, four or five games on the bounce where we are constantly picking up points.
“It can’t be the case where we are winning one game and losing the next as that will leave us in and around mid-table. That is not where we want to be. “It has been an indifferent start to the season but this is an important month as they are games we are capable of winning. “We have to make the most of it before the winter break.” McGinn could face two of his international team-mates tonight with Gareth McAuley and Kyle Lafferty in the Rangers squad.
He is a huge fan of defender McAuley who is someone he looks up to as a great ambassador for the game.
The Aberdeen star feels his international buddy could turn out to be one of Steven Gerrard’s best signings for his value on and off the pitch.
McGinn added: “After we played Rangers in the semifinal he came to Aberdeen to play in a reserve league match.
“Everyone spoke about how highly he conducted himself, spoke to the young lads and organised everything.
“That just shows what he is like as a man. He is a great role model. Hopefully he doesn’t have a great game if he plays on Wednesday!”