Maynard reunited with the boss who knows him best
THE spike in the graph for Nicky Maynard came five years ago. A prized asset in Derek McInnes’ Bristol City team, a big money move to West Ham in January 2012 appeared to be the stepping stone for the striker to become pretty much anything he wanted to be.
Four months after the switch to East London, the then 25-year-old was to be found celebrating on the field at Wembley as part of the Hammers squad that defeated Blackpool in the Play-off final.
For the former Crewe trainee, reaching the Premier League ought to have been just the start of the adventure. Regrettably, it turned out to be the pinnacle.
‘West Ham is a massive club and they have a lot of money,’ said Maynard. ‘Sam Allardyce was honest and said I was more than welcome to stay, but he had money to spend on bringing in strikers like Andy Carroll.
‘He said it was up to me but, for me, the most important thing was to carry on playing football. It wasn’t so much that I had to play at a club like West Ham.
‘I just wanted to play football. That’s why I moved on. Although I enjoyed my time there, it was more about playing football than just the club you played for.’
His reputation intact, he was never going to be short of offers. Cardiff, then in the Championship, reportedly paid £2.75million but the move went sour when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury after just three games.
Although the Welsh side won promotion without him, the die were cast. A loan move to Wigan pre-empted a switch to MK Dons which coincided with relegation to League One.
Now aged 30, it’s fair to say that Maynard arrives at Pittodrie keen to make up for lost time.
‘The last couple of seasons, although I’ve been injury free, I haven’t really fulfilled my goalscoring potential,’ he conceded.
‘For whatever reason that is, I just feel it’s good to get a change. I just feel the Doc (Tony Docherty) and the gaffer will get the best out of me.
‘I don’t feel like I have to prove myself to them because he has the belief in me and I know that he has my back.’
Maynard clearly has a connection with the Aberdeen management team that he’s not enjoyed with anyone since they parted company from Ashton Gate.
McInnes concedes that Maynard’s indifferent time since they last crossed paths makes his signing something of a risk. All the more reason, the striker believes, to repay the faith he have shown in him.
‘We weren’t together for that long at Bristol City, because obviously I moved on to West Ham, but the time we were together I enjoyed,’ the player reflected.
‘I think they know what is best for me and how to get the best out of me. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we can be very successful this season. Working with the gaffer again will help me kick on even more. The fact that Aberdeen have come on a lot and are competing for the championship and playing in Europe will help, as well.
‘It’s always good to work with someone that you’ve already worked with instead of going into the unknown, if you like.’
If Maynard can turn back the clock, McInnes (right) has no doubts as to what he’ll get for his investment.
Now that chances will come along more frequently than at Milton Keynes, the player too feels the Dons fans should not have long to wait before his attributes are evident.
‘I’m a hungry striker who’s always getting his shots off when he can and scoring as many goals as possible,’ he stated.
‘As a forward, the main reason I signed was because if I’m going to get three or four good chances a game, I would expect to score one or two.’
He’s certainly not short on confidence. Not just in terms of what he can achieve personally this season, but where he can take the team that were the nearly men of the Scottish game last term.
‘For me, personally, you don’t go into a season expecting to finish second,’ he stated.
‘I always want to win. Whether I’m being unrealistic or not, I don’t know, but I feel like we can challenge them (Celtic). I’ve also never had the chance to play in Europe before but, as a footballer, you’d always like to add that to your list. ‘But I’m just looking forward to playing for Aberdeen, pulling the shirt on and scoring as many goals as possible.’ McInnes’ theory on Maynard is simple. The impressive striking instincts he witnessed all too briefly at close quarters in the West Country have not diminished through time. If the goal return of late hasn’t been exactly staggering, much of that can be attributed to a lack of opportunities. At Aberdeen, poor service is rarely an issue. ‘It’s similar to Adam Rooney. When we signed him, he hadn’t had it easy at Oldham,’ offered McInnes. ‘With the greatest respect, but if you had gone to watch Adam at that time you probably wouldn’t have taken him.
‘But I knew what we were getting with him — someone who, in the right team, dominating possession and creating plenty of chances, he would be a striker who would score goals.
‘We felt that when we took him and it’s similar with Nicky — we’ve a striker who can guarantee us goals, really, if we provide the opportunities for him.
‘The short time we had working with him we recognised his quality both on the training pitch and at the club.
‘If we can keep him fit and he’s hungry to do well, I think he’ll enjoy the change of scenery and the platform we can provide.
‘So we’re just hoping we can help him reach his full potential again.
‘Others have seen that potential in the past and paid that fee for him. We want to give him a stage now where he can get back to what he does best — playing regularly and scoring goals.’