McGINN AIMS TO SEE OFF SAINTS
NIALL McGINN’S silence over his future intentions was as deafening as ever for the Pittodrie faithful yesterday.
An anxious Aberdeen support have been waiting for some time to hear if the popular wide-man is prepared to stay or, as seems more likely, head south when his contract ends in six weeks’ time.
When the subject was broached again ahead of today’s crucial Premiership trip to St Johnstone, McGinn preferred to play his cards close to his chest.
There was at least one thing the 29-year-old was willing to shout from the rooftops, though. If he is leaving for pastures new this summer, he wants to go out on a high.
For starters, that means winning in Perth this afternoon — which would see Derek McInnes’ Dons at the very least maintaining their nine-point lead in second place over a Rangers side who surprisingly beat them 3-0 in the Granite City last weekend.
And that, in turn, would set them up nicely for next Saturday’s Scottish Cup lastfour clash against Hibs, with McGinn ultimately setting his sights on a Hampden triumph for the Dons against either Celtic or Rangers in the final.
‘Despite what happened last Sunday, our confidence is still high and it’s important to keep that going,’ said the Northern Ireland international. ‘With a semi-final coming up, you want to be going in on a good run.
‘We’ve been on a very good run apart from a poor spell against Rangers. It was a bad four or five minutes but victory at St Johnstone would set us up nicely for the semi-final.
‘The priority is to get to a final and hopefully win a trophy. We won the League Cup before and that was an incredible experience. What it meant for the fans and the city.
‘A Scottish Cup winners’ medal for Aberdeen would be unbelievable and would be a nice way to finish the season.’
The Dons support have taken to the former Celtic youngster since he made his move north in 2012 and McGinn admits he owes the club a lot for helping to put his career back on track after frustrating spells at Parkhead and Brentford.
But that may not be enough to persuade him to stay.
‘Before I signed for Aberdeen I had chances to go elsewhere,’ he explained. ‘Once Aberdeen came in for me it was a no-brainer. Having played in Scotland before, I knew what type of club I was coming to. It was a great opportunity and thankfully I made the right decision at the right time and it has worked wonders for me.
‘Craig Brown brought me in on a free transfer. I scored a lot of goals in my first season. I am touching 70 goals and have also weighed in with a lot of assists.
‘Coming here restarted my club career and helped my international career. The club have been great to me as have the fans. I have loved my time here, it has been really positive. I want to keep that going over the next few weeks.
‘The manager has spoken about my future. I am out of contract in the summer and have not signed a contract yet.
‘It is an ongoing thing and I am weighing up options and I will make a decision at the end of the season. The most important thing is to keep enjoying my football with Aberdeen. I will just play it by ear and see what happens.’
Today’s opponents Saints have their own agenda, of course, as they aim to not only stay ahead of Hearts in fourth place but potentially catch Rangers.
Something else is driving them on, though. Tommy Wright’s men were upset by Aberdeen’s celebrations after they won a League Cup clash in September. They were also branded ‘rugby players’ by their Dons counterparts after a stormy 0-0 draw at Pittodrie in December.
‘There have been issues going back a distance between the teams but it’s all good banter,’ claimed Perth striker Steven MacLean. ‘We are old school and we embrace it.
‘What was the reaction in the dressing room when we were called rugby players? We had a good laugh. It showed we had got under their skin.
‘I know the British and Irish Lions squad is being announced soon but I don’t think any of us will make it. Look at the size of these guys and, apart from our keeper Zander Clark at second row, we would only have a few in with a chance at scrum-half.
‘We aren’t rugby players but we do work hard and teams don’t like playing us. We won’t let anyone roll over us. We make it difficult for teams but we also have a bit of quality about us.
‘But we have to be ready for Aberdeen because they deserve to finish second in the league this season. They have quality all over the pitch.’