THE BEST AND WORST OF MILNE’S DONS DAYS:
Cup win was my ultimate high and low says outgoing Milne
STEWART MILNE is in no doubt the ultimate high of his 21 years as chairman was seeing his beloved Aberdeen lift the 2014 League Cup.
The biggest disappointment, however, was that it was the only trophy the Dons won during a reign that spanned more than two decades.
Even then, the Red Army was put through the wringer as that final went the distance and saw them eventually win after a nail-biting shoot-out against Inverness.
It led to Milne famously saying on radio: “Nineteen years, 120 minutes and then f ****** ” penalties!’”
Milne, who stepped down as chairman at last night’s AGM and was replaced by Dave Cormack, recalled: “That day at Celtic Park was amazing in a lot of respects.
“We had such a large number of fans and when I walked out it reminded me of a big Celtic European night with the way the stadium was decked out and the atmosphere was special.
“We eventually won it after putting everyone through the mill with extra-time and penalties. That has to be my standout moment.”
The property tycoon has invested massively – both in finances and emotion – in his hometown team.
Milne joined the Pittodrie board back in 1994 and four years later stepped up to become the main man.
The appointments of Jimmy Calderwood and Derek McInnes helped put the Dons back on the map.
But a major regret was that the team only delivered one trophy – although there were several cup final appearances and a regular diet of European football for the fans.
Milne said: “The biggest disappointment in my 21 years is that we only got one piece of silverware. If it that is eventually what I am measured against then I am not going to get many gold stars from the fans out there. If we look back over the period, outside of Rangers and Celtic, we have probably been in as many finals and semis as any of the other clubs.
“Sadly, we haven’t been able to turn more of these occasions into silverware.”
Milne joined Aberdeen when they were prepared to pay big money. They spent a record £1million to sign Paul Bernard from Oldham and also splashed out to land the likes of Dean Windass, Ilian Kiriakov and Tsanko Tsvetanov.
The Dons finished bottom of the table in 2000 but were saved from relegation as Falkirk were denied promotion due to Brockville not meeting SPL standards at the time.
There were also various abandoned plans to move Aberdeen to a new stadium.
However, after years and years of red tape, Milne and the board were finally able to deliver a training ground, when Cormack Park was opened two months ago.
Milne said: “The lows? It is hard to pick one out but what I have learned reasonably quickly was never get carried away if things are going well because you know there is a disappointment round the corner.
“It is also even more important not to sink too low or into despair when you are going through difficult times.
“That is when you realise that everybody is watching you and if they see you down in the pits it is very difficult not for them to be down there as well.
“Even if you feel that is where you want to go, you can’t go there. You have to fight hard to make sure you are keeping an even keel, everything is under control and you are remaining reasonably calm.
“If you can do that and believe you can get through things then it is amazing what you will get out of other people.
“That is something we need a bit more of in football, people who can keep a more even keel.
“That is where it has been great to have people on the board to be a rock.
“And in the last six or seven years Derek (McInnes) has been a rock.”
Milne will continue to serve on the Aberdeen board but doesn’t expect too much to change in terms of the club’s spending power, despite recent investment from America.
He said: “I don’t think anyone should have the expectation that there is going to be radical change and we are going to be a cash-rich club.
“No, this is the environment we operate within and it is fantastic to get that new investment in. It gives us our working capital. We know it is there for the next two to three years.
“Nobody appreciates that it costs £750,000 a year to run. “That is on top of the other costs we had before. It was a fraction of that to run training facilities but it demonstrated how far behind we were and what we were expecting Derek and the players to cope with. That is big money every year.”
We won on penalties eventually. That must be my standout moment
STEWART MILNE ON HIS ABERDEEN HIGHLIGHT