Cove hit eight to edge top
it’s not part-time v full-time – it’s players v players. We’re athletes, we’re playing in a professional league as professional players.
“That’s why we’ve beaten Hibs, beaten Dundee United, gone to Ibrox and drawn.
“It’s managing expectation. I’ve only been involved for two years here but what they’ve done for the past six years, surviving in this division, has been incredible.”
The key to that has been recruitment – f inding the right blend of senior pros on the downward curve of their career path to bring the best out of loan signings as well as waifs and strays with points to prove.
“This summer five of our players left us to better themselves in fulltime football,” said Aitken, the frustration obliterated by the pride of a father sending kids out into the world equipped for life.
“Alan Martin and Andy Stirling to Queen of the South, Darren Barr and Robert Thomson back to full-time with Morton, Gregor Buchanan to St Mirren. Sam Stanton was going nowhere at Hibs, no one else wanted him on loan last season. But after coming here he had three clubs chasing him and has made a great move to Dundee United. We create the right environment and as a consequence clubs trust us with the development of their loan players.
“We train wel l, provide food after their training, we get them measured up for suits – all the wee things that go a long way.
“And they go back to their clubs and speak highly of how we treat them as well.
“So when we send f i ve g uy s f rom part-time football into full-time football on the back of last season then obviously it weakens us. But what other club does that – creates that for five players to better themselves?”
Much of Aitken’s knowledge on dealing with the psyche of part- time players comes from experience, not all of it positive.
He said: “Looking back, when I went part-time I never did enough. I thought I only had to train twice a week.
“You can’t do that now and our players get that. I didn’t but then even full-time that was the culture.
“It changed when Janne Lindberg came in at Morton with Marko Rajamaki, both of them Finnish internationals. They’d be in the gym in the afternoons while we’d be playing snooker or golf.
“We’re thinking, ‘ What are they doing that for?’ We changed, although guys like Derek McInnes were always a great example.
“As a k id in pre- season I remember some of the senior pros would tell you to get behind them and not make them look bad – but as soon as the whistle went Derek was away.”
To this day Aitken still uses the Aberdeen manager as both a yardstick and a sounding board, a relationship that helped him lure Ian Durrant to the club earlier this year as his assistant.
He said: “Derek’s a good pal. We were in Florida in the summer and had arranged to meet up for golf.
“I picked him up at six in the morning – he was on the phone in among all the Sunderland stuff and I said, ‘If you don’t want to do this don’t worry.’
“And he said, ‘ Nah, I’ve just knocked it back.’ I nearly crashed the motor.
“But he felt it wasn’t right. Derek’s worked so hard, he did a lot of good, unnoticed work at Bristol City and he wants to go back south at some point – but he has to make sure the next move is the right one.
“So you bide your time. It’s what he said to me, to be fair.
“The right opportunity will come and he said the work I’d done for the past five years will get me my turn eventually.
“I’m hoping Ian will help with that as well. I got to know him when Rangers were in the lower leagues and I liked his charisma and character. I also wanted someone who would raise eyebrows in our dressing room and raise the bar for the club and for me – someone with a profile.
“I watched the players closely when he walked in. Let’s be honest, half the dressing room are either Celtic or Rangers fans and you could see from both sides there was an instant impression. “He has been great. But that’s what we all have
to be.”
Sunday Mail 59
CoveC Rangers smashed eighte past Fort William tot take a lead on goal differenced at the top.
And manager John Sheran feltfe Cove, who are sti l l withoutw a ground, had rarely lookedlo more at home at borrowedb Harlaw Park.
Ex-Don Mitch Megginson wasw the hat-trick hero amid thet rampage, with Cove edginge ahead in the table abovea the two other teams withw a 100 per cent record, RothesR and Formartine.
Sheran said: “We made it look easy as we moved ththe ball about so well.
“I’m happy as there were ggreat moves and great goals. WWe’ve encouraged the pplayers to be even more rruthless and, so far, they aare doing that.”
Craig Cormack and Kris Duncan secured reborn Rothes a 2- 0 home triumph against nine-man Inverurie Locos who had ex-Dundee United midfielder Stuart Duf f and Nei l MacLean red-carded.
Formartine triumphed 4 - 1 away to For r e s Mechanics, with ex- Ross County and Elgin striker Archie MacPhee netting a double in the victory.
Brora Rangers beat Strathspey Thistle 3- 0 at home with Kyle Macleod, Scott Houston and Scott Graham on target.
Jordan MacRae, Jack Maclean and Max Ewan struck as revitalised Nairn Count y shocked la st season’s champions Buckie Thistle 3-2 at Victoria Park.
Turriff United won 1- 0 at Clach, Deveronvale saw off Wick 3-1 and Fraserburgh cruised to a 3-0 win at Keith.