The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Shinnie hopes winter camp spurs Dons on
ABERDEEN: Captain insists visit to Dubai will be no holiday with tough cup tie looming
Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie says the Dons squad know they are not heading out to Dubai for a jolly.
The Dons flew out to the United Arab Emirates for their mid-season training camp yesterday.
They will spend the next four days training at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence ahead of Sunday’s friendly against Uzbekistan champions Lokomotiv Tashkent.
Shinnie says the players are determined to make the most of the experience, particularly with a tricky Scottish Cup tie against St Mirren on the horizon.
He said: “It certainly won’t be a holiday in Dubai. It will be a proper training camp where we will focus on the St Mirren Scottish Cup tie.
“We will have to be ready for it. When we come back to play St Mirren, we know it will be a very tough game because they will be really up for it.
“Travelling brings the players together and it shows in our away form.
“There is a very strong bond in the dressing room and the Dubai trip will make it even stronger. The winter break last year worked in our favour, probably more than anyone in the league due to the fact we are virtually playing games all year round.
“Going to Dubai was a great success last year.
“It’s always nice to get away and have different surroundings. The weather was good and the training facilities were top class. It was great to get away and rest up after the tough December run of games, so we all looked forward to going back to Dubai again this year.
“We also got a bit of time with the family in the first week in January which was really important, then the training camp will hopefully set us up well for the second half of the season.”
Shinnie, a Scottish Cup winner with Caley Thistle in 2015, is hoping to make up for last season’s final heartache in that competition when the Dons suffered a 2-1 defeat by Celtic at Hampden with Tom Rogic netting an injury-time winner for the Hoops.
He said: “All the players are now looking forward to trying to emulate what we did last year after coming back from Dubai and it would be great if we could go one stage further in the Scottish Cup this time around.
“The team also wants to try to emulate and better what we did in the second half of the league last season.
“It will be tough because I think we took something like 42 points from 57 last season after the break but we are in a similar position and looking to be just as successful and hopefully more so. We will be fighting hard in the league and in the Scottish Cup.”
Manager Derek Mcinnes has already added Niall Mcginn to his squad ahead of the January transfer window and has spoken of his desire to add quality to his side for the season’s run-in.
Shinnie expects him to be successful in that pursuit as they seek to push title favourites Celtic for as long as they can.
He said: “We have a great squad and I am sure the manager will try and strengthen it further before we come back.”