SCOTTISH CUP
SEMI-FINAL SPECIAL
WITH plenty to chew over ahead of this lunchtime’s semi-final at Hampden, Scott McKenna still remembers the moment last year when he was unsure if life as a professional footballer was going to be sweet or sour.
On one of the most significant days in Aberdeen’s recent history, the centre-half found himself distanced from the limelight and asking himself some serious questions.
McKenna had just endured a miserable loan spell at Ayr United in the second tier when he sat down with his agent in a restaurant in Glasgow before the Dons faced Celtic in last season’s Scottish Cup final.
The situation could have been grim. It sounds ridiculous now for a 21-year-old who has been one of Derek McInnes’ star performers in this campaign, was targeted three times by Hull City in January and has made the breakthrough into Alex McLeish’s Scotland team.
‘I was out for food with my agent, Gordon Reid, before the game,’ said McKenna, reflecting on last year’s showpiece at Hampden.
‘I sat with my agent trying to work out what I might have needed to do if I was released by Aberdeen in the summer: “What do I have to do to give me a chance of getting another club if I get released from here?”.
‘My target for this season was to try to play five to ten games for Aberdeen. I hadn’t played for Ayr much and I maybe wasn’t going to get anything at Aberdeen if I hadn’t been playing.
‘I felt if I could get five or ten games, then I would be in a good position for somebody to take a chance on me.
‘I had just had my loan at Ayr cancelled. Everything was going through my mind, although I was focused on trying to get in the best shape I could for coming back. You still get doubts as to whether or not you are going to get that chance.
‘I watched the final and then went back home.’
McKenna has since gone on to make 32 appearances for the Dons this season, scoring twice in the process, and signed a contract extension at Pittodrie last month keeping him at Aberdeen until 2023. Very much a mainstay in the side, he has enjoyed a remarkable transformation in fortunes since returning to the first team against today’s cup semi-final opponents Motherwell in a 1-0 Premiership win at Fir Park in September.
His excellent display that day helped lift the Dons, who had been ripped to shreds in a 3-0 defeat to the Steelmen in their League Cup quarter-final three days previously.
Trying to make the most of the luxuries afforded to him at one of Scotland’s leading clubs, McKenna knows how lucky he has been.
‘There have been boys here who have gone out on loan and done well and it hasn’t worked out,’ continued McKenna. ‘I have been the opposite. It is all about timing.
‘If the team had done well in the League Cup against Motherwell, I might not be sitting here or have played for Scotland. I might still have been in the stands but, thankfully, I have managed to grab the opportunity.
‘I wasn’t playing well enough at Ayr and I got dropped. Boys came in and did well and kept the position, which was the right thing to happen.
‘If you are the manager, you need to play your best team. I wasn’t playing well enough and was costing a goal a game nearly every game.
‘I was in with part-time boys, training with them at night. Some of them had another 90 minutes to drive after training and were getting home at midnight before they were starting their day jobs again at 6am the next morning.
‘At Aberdeen, I am in at 9.45am and you are away at 1 or 2pm. You need to try and keep that for as long as you can and I was determined to work as hard as I could to try and turn things around.
‘There were boys who probably weren’t earning that much money in their day jobs and needed the money from football to get by. If you stay full-time, it is a very different lifestyle.’
Boss McInnes still remembers how his Dons players swaggered into Hampden for last season’s final full of confidence, before losing a late winner to Celtic’s Tom Rogic.
While McKenna might not be getting too ahead of himself, making his debut for Scotland against Costa Rica last month means he will not be daunted by playing at the national stadium.
‘I didn’t think about it too much when I was there with Scotland,’ he said. ‘But having been in the dressing room, it will make it a bit easier. If I had been going there for the first time, it might have been a bit daunting but, hopefully, having been there it will be a benefit.’
The Dons will want to quickly forget about last Saturday’s disappointing 2-0 loss at Hearts — hardly ideal preparation for such a huge game against Motherwell.
The hunger among McInnes’ men to rise to the occasion — and go one better by winning the tournament — is greater than ever.
‘After the disappointment of losing the final last year, it is massive,’ added McKenna.
‘We had a disappointing result on Saturday and we want to try to get to the final and right the wrongs of last year.
‘I can sense it is massive for everyone at the club.’