McInnes undaunted by loss of four players

ABERDEEN: Manager ‘gutted’ but relishes task of rebuilding his squad

He has lost four players from his squad, and the number could increase, but Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes insists he will rebuild his Dons.

Ryan Jack, Niall McGinn, Ash Taylor and Peter Pawlett will all be playing in pastures new next season. Celtic and Birmingham are weighing up whether to make a bid for Jonny Hayes as the list of admirers looking towards Pittodrie grows, and the manager himself has been linked with a move to Sunderland.

The Aberdeen boss, who flew out to the United States for his summer break yesterday, is disappointed to be losing so many in one window but welcomes the challenge of sourcing replacements.

He said: “There have been a lot of conversations.

“There has been a lot of effort to try and bring new players to the club.

“I am gutted I can’t hold on to the ones who are leaving. I would love to lock them in Pittodrie and give them what they want as I love working with them.

“No one is leaving because they are unhappy. They are leaving to go and financially better themselves.

“That is something we can’t bridge the gap on, unfortunately. All the players go out with their heads held high.”

He added: “The focus is on my recruitment team and myself and the board to make sure we get good players in.”

McInnes does not have the financial muscle to make wholesale changes to his squad and has had to build his squad brick by brick.

That is why such a drastic overhaul in one window will be a huge test.

But, given the club’s feat of finishing second in the Premiership, runners-up in two cup finals and qualification for the Europa League for the fourth summer in a row, the Aberdeen manager believes selling attracting targets will be an easy task.

Caley Thistle midfielder Greg Tansey has already been sold on a move and the Englishman will join his new Aberdeen team-mates for pre-season training next month after signing a pre-contract.

Scotland international Shaun Maloney is another player McInnes would like to have on board, while Celtic duo Gary Mackay-Steven and Ryan Christie also feature prominently on his list of potential targets.

McInnes is refusing to comment on his targets but has reiterated his desire to have his new-look squad in place as quickly as possible.

“The days are long gone now when Aberdeen just get to the odd cup final. Saturday was our third cup final in four years and our fourth game at Hampden this season,” he said.

“We work a couple of windows ahead and have been doing our work in anticipation of a situation like this happening. I’m confident we can be just as competitive.”

Picture: SNS. Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is upset to be losing four players but confident of making his squad as competitive as it was last season.