The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Rooney chasing century
Aberdeen: Forward aims to prove he is Pittodrie number one by bagging his 100th goal
Adam Rooney insists he remains the number one goalscorer at Aberdeen – and he plans on proving it.
The Dons forward, the club’s leading scorer for the past three seasons, has been restricted to four goals in 13 appearances this season.
The arrival of Stevie May and Nicky Maynard means Rooney has started just six times in all competitions for Aberdeen but the striker is not fazed by the increased competition for places.
In fact, he has a new goal to aim for.
He said: “I’ve tried to be top scorer at every club I’ve been at and at the end of most seasons I have been.
“That’s the aim again and 100 goals is my next target. I’m on 81 and the quicker I can get to that tally the better it will be for me and the club.
“We’ve got good strikers at the club and there is competition. I have confidence in myself and want to be the top scorer again.
“I always believe in myself when I’m on the pitch and the more I’m out there the better chance I have and the plan is to get as many as I can this season again whether I’m starting or coming off the bench.
“The dynamic of the team has changed.
“Last year Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn were on the wings and there were more balls into the box whereas this season the wide players like to drift inside so for me it is a case of adapting around the team we have.”
Rooney is used to facing competition for the lone forward position in Derek McInnes’ starting 11 – so much so that he has played wide left on occasion.
The Dons attacker believes he can be a goal threat wherever he plays for the team.
He said: “I went through this last season with Jayden Stockley too so it’s nothing new to me and I know when I get a chance I have to do well.
“My strengths are in and around the box but even when I’m out wide or defending, whenever we are up the pitch I try to work my way into the box.
“Regardless of where I am in the system I try to get into the six yard box as that’s where I do the most damage.”
The Republic of Ireland striker hopes he will get a chance to stake another claim for a regular berth by featuring against Motherwell today.
One place he will not be, however, is Brentford despite reports he featured for the English club earlier this week.
Rooney explained: “Seemingly I was playing for Brentford in a trial on Tuesday that I didn’t know about but I did all right apparently.
“Two people contacted me to ask about it but I must have been drunk as I’ve no recollection of being there at all. It must have been a slow week.
“I know of Wayne and John, his brother, and I played with Luke Rooney, but I’ve never heard of another Adam.” Dundee defender Josh Meekings has admitted he was forced to consider his future after suffering a serious knee injury last year.
The 25-year-old missed the second half of last season after sustaining the injury playing for Inverness against Ross County, and was out of contract in the summer.
But after undergoing lengthy rehabilitation, Meekings has returned to action at Dens Park after Neil McCann showed faith in his fitness and offered him a deal in August.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t go through my mind,” he said. “I was out of contract with Inverness and was sat there thinking ‘who is going to be interested?’ People are going to have concerns about my knee so it was a frustrating period and quite difficult to deal with mentally, but
“I have confidence in myself and want to be the top scorer again”