ABERDEEN LATEST
Telly addict Anthony O’Connor watches hours of football on the box as he tries to gain an advantage over opponents.
And if there’s nothing on the TV the Aberdeen defender will cruise through clips of the game’s greats on YouTube. He’s a self-confessed football nut. Even Dons boss Derek McInnes calls the 6ft 2in Irishman a geek when it comes to swotting up on tactics.
But O’Connor says he’ll do anything he can to give him an edge.
That means trawling the net to gather up tips from the likes of Nemanja Vidic and John Terry.
Or using technology to sniff out the strengths and weaknesses in the strikers he’ll face this season.
He has already done his homework on Motherwell hotshot Louis Moult ahead of Thursday’s League Cup clash at Firhill.
And O’Connor said: “If you watched the way I am at home you’d think I was a bit of a nut job.
“If there’s a game on the television I’ll watch it whether it’s from the English Championship or League One. “The gaffer says I’m just a bit of a geek. “I watch things on YouTube about certain players I admire like Vidic, the ex-Manchester United centre-half, Terry when he was at Chelsea and Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid.
“These are players I look up to and I try to take different bits of their game then add them to mine.”
O’Connor started out as a trainee at Blackburn Rovers but never found his feet and ened up at Burton Albion.
But he has flourished since his move to Pittodrie, making 32 league starts last term and earning his reputation for being obsessed with analysing his rivals.
O’Connor admits he’s desperate for Dons to reach another League Cup Final after they were panned for their display in last year’s 3- 0 defeat by Celtic.
That’s why he has done his research on Moult to give Aberdeen the best chance of getting to the semi-finals.
He said: “I try to look at opposition players and examine the things they’re good at before the game.
“I ask myself: ‘ If he gets the chance to run at me, what foot should I send him on? Does he like being kicked?
“Does he like somebody snapping at his heels? Does he shy away from the battle?’ “You pick up little things like that. “At the first goal kick, for instance, I wonder: ‘ Will he shy out of going for the header with me?’
“If I win the header and clean him out as well then in my head I thinking, ‘Bang, that’s one up for me, I’m mentally ahead of him now. I’ve won the first battle.’
“If there’s a 50-50 tackle I’m going make sure I win it. I’ll go through him and he’s going to know it.
“You get di f ferent strikers every week – big ones, small ones, some who are quick, others who are strong.
“You have to use your brain and figure out the best way to handle them.”
O’Connor reckons his behaviour can be traced to his childhood and being spurred on to be the best by his family.
He said: “It’s something that was put into me at a young age.
“My dad would always tell me after a game what I did well and where I could have been better. “It’s the way my family is. “If I know I have made a mistake I try not to dwell on it too much. It just messes up your head if you do.
“But I am self-critical and that’s a good thing. You don’t just go home and say, ‘I