Unfinished BUSINESS
‘It would take something special to make me want to leave Aberdeen. Whenever I do leave it will be with a heavy heart. I didn’t feel ready to turn my back on it. There were loads of positives and appeal about Sunderland — but there were also one or two re
DEREK McINNES swotted up on the detail, posed all the relevant questions and sought counsel from his mentors. In the end, it all came down to the feeling in his gut. As a consequence, he is today preparing to kick off his fifth league campaign as Aberdeen manager and not reflecting on his first competitive assignment in the English Championship with Sunderland.
A compensation deal struck between the two clubs meant there was no material object in McInnes’s path should he choose to head south of the border and there was plenty to tempt him in the sales pitch offered by his old Rangers acquaintance Martin Bain.
A Florida pow-wow with the Sunderland chief executive was cordial and the pair enjoyed an easy rapport as they relaxed in the American sunshine. There was the offer of an attractive salary and a budget bolstered by £47million worth of parachute payments from the Premier League. And yet...
In contrast to the money was the downward momentum of a club relegated last season and already long odds to bounce back to the top flight at the first attempt.
McInnes has improved Aberdeen year on year and decided he was better off staying put. When it came to the crunch, he issued a polite refusal and resolved to carry on his work at Pittodrie.
‘I said around the Scottish Cup final (against Celtic in May) that it would take something special to grab me and make me want to leave Aberdeen,’ he told Sportsmail, during a break from his team’s preparations for the Europa League tie against Apollon Limassol in Cyprus last week.
‘Whenever I do leave here — and that could easily be a decision that is made for me — it will be with a heavy heart. I didn’t feel ready to turn my back on it. There were loads of positives and appeal about Sunderland — but there were also one or two reservations.
‘I’ve also got to be really protective of my career. I didn’t feel that leaving here at that moment in time was the right thing. It was entirely my decision. There are one or two people who can give you their thoughts and guidance, but it felt right to stay.
‘It came down to gut feeling and once I made the decision I felt really comfortable. I felt good about it.’
There were counter discussions with his own chairman. Stewart Milne may have been contractually bound to let Sunderland speak to his manager after a release clause was triggered, but the property magnate didn’t entrust the future to fate.
He and McInnes were in regular telephone contact and, although a new contract had been in the pipeline even before Sunderland showed their hand, the most pressing issue was the matter of player recruitment.
Niall McGinn, Ash Taylor, Peter Pawlett and Ryan Jack had all resolved to leave under freedom of contract, while Jonny Hayes had been promised he would be allowed to leave should a bid materialise such as the £1.3m offer which has taken him to Celtic.
If McInnes were to remain, he needed a guarantee that the five significant holes in his squad would be plugged — and with a similar quality of player.
With director Dave Cormack back at Pittodrie and committed to ‘significant investment’ following the sale of his software company, Milne was in a position to make promises.
He appointed McInnes in 2013 after the latter’s ill-fated spell with Bristol City and the fact their relationship is enduringly strong helped draw him away with a move to a club which seems susceptible to more volatility as Sunderland owner Ellis Short seeks a buyer.
‘I got some assurances from the chairman,’ said McInnes. ‘We had to show our strength as a club. We were losing key players and I was keen for us to demonstrate that through action, not talk, by getting in good players.
‘Tony (Docherty, his assistant) and I feel that we are really fortunate to earn what we do at Aberdeen and the chairman has demonstrated that loyalty. More than that, we are working for someone who has total confidence and trust in us. As a manager, that can help make the job that more enjoyable and rewarding.’
Not that he would have found Bain difficult to work with. ‘I could easily have worked with Martin Bain,’ he continued. ‘I liked him. I didn’t know him too much from his time at Rangers but I liked him as a person.
‘He is a reliable and good person, and that was one of the attractions of the job. There were a lot of things I wanted to get a handle on regarding where the club was. Once the clubs agreed on the compensation figure, I felt it was important that we got to a decision quickly.
‘I was conscious there was work that needed done at Aberdeen. I was already getting frustrated at not getting one or two things in.
‘We had lost Jonny, we were hitting the post with a lot of things. We didn’t get Ryan Christie on a permanent deal which annoyed me because I thought we were going to do that.
‘I had to make a decision the next day, just to be fair to everybody. Having asked all the relevant questions and got a handle on the Sunderland situation, it felt right to stay.’
The announcement that McInnes was staying was only the start of the good news. A new deal for the management team was trumpeted and then new players checked in.
Christie was secured on a season-long loan from Celtic, while former Dundee attacker Greg Stewart was brought in on a similar deal from Birmingham.
Gary Mackay-Steven’s permanent transfer from Parkhead will compensate for the width lost through the departures of Hayes and McGinn, while Kari Arnason, a star of Iceland’s memorable Euro 2016 campaign, has returned to the club for a second spell and is earmarked as Taylor’s replacement at centre-half. Thus far, the 34-year-old has not been deemed fit enough to start. With midfielder Greg Tansey’s free transfer from Inverness agreed long before, McInnes is happy with his haul.
But, having wrestled with his own dilemma and found more to motivate him in the north east of Scotland, there remains frustration at some of his summer losses.
‘The players who have left? I would have kept them all, to be honest,’ he added. ‘You build up relationships, loyalty and trust, so you don’t want to change something that is not broken. When people leave Aberdeen, I want it to be for something really worthwhile.
‘When Ash leaves to go to Northampton, Peter goes to MK Dons and Niall to South Korea, I have an opinion on whether that’s right or wrong. Players do it for their own reasons but I think if you hold your nerve, then something a bit more attractive may come along.
‘I’m trying to flaunt myself, I need to stress that. For me, it felt right to stay. It was a strong statement that my players and the club needed, as there was so much work to be done.
There’s no harm bringing in new players. Even for the fans, to see freshness and a real enthusiasm.
‘There’s still a bit more in the budget. I like working with a tight squad but there is scope there to do more if it’s necessary.
‘Over the last two or three years, our team has pretty much picked itself. That has been a strength but, after a period of time, it’s no bad thing to reinvent the team.’
Ultimately, the new players were not bedded in quickly enough to secure the European progress that McInnes so dearly wanted.
The qualifying process for the Europa League is a punishing exercise that leaves no room for error and, in the heat of the Cypriot city of Larnaca, the team came up short.
Like most Scottish sides, Aberdeen thrive on a persistent, high-tempo playing style, which is not sustainable in conditions such as those in Larnaca, where the referee twice stopped the match to allow the players a water break.
The Dons have got better at managing such occasions, the 2-0 win at Siroki Brijeg in the previous round was secured in similar conditions and the 3-0 win at the home of Croatia’s very capable Rijeka side two years back was arguably McInnes’ finest 90 minutes in the job.
McInnes relishes the European arena and, to put the disappointment of last week into context, he admitted that he would have settled for a lower league placing if it meant exposing his team to the adventure of competing in the group stage of the Continental competition.
‘To me, getting to the group stage would be like winning a trophy,’ he mused. ‘It’s something I would want for the club, to get that credibility in Europe again.
‘If that meant dropping points and finishing a position or two below where we were, then so be it. I love Europe. I love the whole landscape of it, the dynamic of it. I like the pace we have to work at, getting to know the opposition and the tactical element of it.’
With Europe gone for another year, all eyes are on the domestic front with Hamilton Accies in town for today’s Premiership opener.
‘I don’t think there’s a club who can really challenge Celtic over the course of a season but we will certainly be giving it our best go,’ he said.
‘A lot of clubs will be eyeing up our second spot. We won that fight last year but Hibs are putting together a good squad and have an experienced manager cracking the whip, Hearts might get a wee impetus from the change of manager and Rangers have also made some good signings.
‘What you see is the traditional clubs back. The Premiership has a standing again after Hibs, Hearts and Rangers all being out of the league the past few seasons.
‘Every league needs its bigger clubs, everybody gets the benefit when they are there.’