READY TO SOAR
McInnes glad Wilson is now free of Old Trafford burden
Derek McInnes is certain James Wilson will get his career back on track at Aberdeen now the former Manchester United striker is no longer burdened by the expectation created by a £30,000-a-week pay packet.
It was Old Trafford manager Louis van Gaal, back in 2015, who sanctioned that extraordinary four-year deal for a teenager who had already scored all four of his goals for the club by that point.
Miserable loan spells at Brighton, Derby County and sheffield United followed and while last season at Pittodrie didn’t go much better in terms of time on the pitch, the overall experience was much more positive.
so much so that Wilson turned down more lucrative offers from english clubs after being released by United in the summer for the chance to relaunch his career under the guidance of McInnes.
The 3-2 home win against Hearts is the only start he has made so far since returning but the Aberdeen manager is convinced the 23-year-old will recapture the form that made him such an exciting prospect in the first place.
‘He was really influential towards the end of last season and we feel now he has found a home that he will be a bit more settled as opposed to being a Manchester United player who was put out here, there and everywhere,’ said McInnes.
‘everybody seems to know the level of contract he was on which, for a young man, is not easy to deal with. He was really just floating at Manchester United the last few seasons and nobody really gave him an incentive.
‘He had injuries and a few disappointing loans. I think there was a perception he was underachieving but James is a boy you need to get to know. ‘There is a confident player in there, a lovely footballer, a real technician who has speed and we just need to get him polished off now and as fit and strong as he can be. If we do that, hopefully, that quality will come through in an Aberdeen shirt.
‘He will tell you himself, he was really happy here. It was the happiest dressing-room environment he has been in. That familiarity — and coming back to me, the players and a city he enjoyed living and working in — can let him concentrate on his football.
‘I still think he has a strong career ahead of him. Getting him confident, fit and playing with a smile on his face is the key.’
It will also help that Wilson and his team-mates will finally have state-of-the-art facilities to train in when the Dons’ new £12million complex officially opens on Thursday, October 31.
The complex has been named Cormack Park in recognition of vice-chairman Dave Cormack’s contribution to delivering the project as he and his Us-based investor partners raised a significant amount of the building costs.
It’s been a long and frustrating process for chairman stewart Milne as previous projects at Bellfield, Loirston and Balgownie all fell through but that simply made him all the more determined to make it fourth time lucky at kingsford.
‘It gives me great pride to see the satisfaction from others now that we are seeing it all materialise,’ said Milne. ‘The ultimate reward will be when we see the players out there actually using the facilities.
‘All the setbacks over the years made us even more determined. We appreciated how big the gap had grown between ourselves and most of the other top clubs around us with regards to those facilities.
‘One way or another, we were going to deliver a facility.
‘A lot of people in and around the club have played a huge part in helping us get there.’
now the next task is to raise the £45m to fund the new 20,000-seater stadium adjacent to Cormack Park on the outskirts of the city but Milne is confident they will be successful.
He added: ‘It is something on a scale that we have never tackled before and it is a huge challenge for the club to raise that sort of money.
‘We have to maximise the value we can take out of Pittodrie but even if we can achieve that, it still leaves a substantial element we will have to raise from other sources. However, we have been able to raise the £12m to deliver phase one.’