Del hopes to bolster Dons squad & keep his star men for title push
DEREK McINNES is ready to dip into his January transfer funds for a striker who can fire Aberdeen’s Premiership title challenge.
The Reds manager paid out six-figure fees to land Lewis Ferguson from Hamilton and Chris Forrester from Peterborough over the summer but failed to land the hitman he desperately craved.
McInnes is now looking to use what’s left in the budget to keep the Dons within striking distance of Celtic, Rangers and Kilmarnock.
He said: “We tried to bring in a striker in the summer and if we identify someone that can help our cause I can always ask the question of the board.
“They’ve always been supportive and if we think there’s money there to help the squad achieve what we want to, we can ask the question.
“We’ve invested money in Lewis Ferguson and he’s more than paid that back.
“We spent £150,000 on Chris but other than that we’ve not spent any money and lost some really good players.”
McInnes might be looking to add to his squad in the attacking areas but he is also desperate to try to keep the top stars he already has.
Captain Graeme Shinnie and fellow Scotland cap Gary Mackay-Steven are both out of contract in the summer and keeping their options open.
McInnes has told them he wants an answer next month but knows the players hold most of the aces. He said: BY SCOTT BURNS “You can’t set a deadline for players who are out of contract.
“They’re well within their rights to take their time and weigh up their options. I’m hoping we can keep them.
“We’ve been good for them and they’ve been good for us.
“The club have helped them push their careers on and hopefully that helps in their decision-making.
“It would be nice for them to let me know in January, for forward planning. We deserve that, I deserve that, but they’re well within their rights to weigh up their options.”
But McInnes is adamant he won’t fret if Shinnie and Mackay-Steven see their futures elsewhere having overcome losing several key players in recent seasons such as Ryan Jack, Ash Taylor, Kenny McLean and Peter Pawlett.
McInnes said: “I’ve been used to losing a lot of good players every summer and there’s no point me feeling sorry for myself. It’s part of the job.
“Both lads have indicated a real enjoyment in being here – by staying they’d be more than happy. Hopefully we get to work with them for a bit longer.”
Aberdeen have surged into the top four after an indifferent start. McInnes believes his team can continue to climb, with home games against Hearts and Celtic and an away trip to Livingston before the winter shutdown.
He said: “I’ve not enjoyed looking at it (the table). Everyone has spoken about it being the most competitive league in years and we weren’t there. That didn’t sit well.
“If we can win our next game it gets us up to where we normally are after 19 games. We’d be on target for 70 points. There’s improvement in us but the next few games give us an opportunity.”
DEREK McINNES