I’LL FIGHT MY GLOVE RIVAL JOE TO BE No.1
KELLE ROOS is ready to battle Joe Lewis for the right to be Aberdeen No.1.
The Dutch keeper signed a two-year deal with the Dons on Saturday after leaving Derby and boss Jim Goodwin is keen for his keepers to compete for a starting berth.
Lewis is the club captain but isn’t guaranteed to be a regular starter in the upcoming campaign.
Speaking from the Dons’ training camp in Spain, Roos said: “Aberdeen are a big club and big clubs have good players who have to challenge for places.
“I’m challenging, Joe is challenging, everybody is challenging for a spot. I want it to bring the best out of me.
“You spend a lot of time together. Keepers have to make the choice – are we going to make it awkward all year round or are we going to work together and accept decisions about our position aren’t up to us?
“It’s very simple. You’ve got a gaffer, you’ve got a goalkeeping coach. I’d say most of the time the gaffer decides who plays. That’s not up to me, it’s not up to Joe. It’s as simple as that.
“For me it’s a case of working together and performing to the best of my ability every day and hopefully get picked.”
The 30-year-old made 18 appearances for Wayne Rooney’s Derby last season as they were relegated from the Championship.
But Roos said: “It was great to play for a manager who was an absolutely elite player. He got the group together nicely and nothing was too strange.
“I’ve got a similar feeling here. You can talk to each other like normal, you don’t have to be scared to knock on the door and say, ‘Listen, I’ve got a problem here or there.’”
Goodwin admits he wants to make Liam Scales’ loan move from Celtic a permanent deal.
The Irish defender has moved to Aberdeen on a season-long agreement.
And the Dons boss said: “Celtic are not willing to sell Liam right now at this moment in time. That’s fair enough because he’s on a long-term contract until 2025. Certainly we’ll enter into those discussions again in January if Liam has the kind of success we expect him to have.
“Hopefully he is enjoying his time at Aberdeen and will want to sign on with us.”