GLASS NO REGRETS OVER ANDERSON
WHILE Stephen Glass scours the free-agent market for a striker to solve Aberdeen’s goalscoring problems, one he let go could add to them at Livingston today. Bruce Anderson rejected the chance to remain at Pittodrie last summer and scored against his old team in their first away league match of this season. Glass had the last laugh that day as the Dons won 2-1, yet it remains one of only two victories on the road for his side in the Premiership so far.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas went in the opposite direction to Anderson but, while he has managed just one goal all season, the Livingston marksman has hit the target ten times. Christian Ramirez is the only Aberdeen player to have scored more, which perhaps explains why the Dons have just eight wins in total in this campaign. However, Glass insisted yesterday that 23-year-old Anderson’s move was the right thing for both parties.
‘There was an opportunity to stay but he chose to leave because he felt there was something better for him,’ he claimed.
‘We all like Bruce and know what he could become but, at the age he was at, he had been on the periphery for too long. Bruce is a good player but he needed somewhere he was going to play regularly. I think he’s found that (at Livingston).
‘I think he’s thriving which, for the club, is good to see. You never know what happens further down the line. ‘We like to see boys who have come through the system here go and have good careers. We’re pleased for him.’
Concerns are not limited to scoring goals for the Dons, given that their only clean sheet in the last six games was in the Scottish Cup against Edinburgh City. The one consolation is that, despite the expensively assembled squad’s indifferent form, they are still just four points off fourth place. ‘That’s the thing,’ said Pittodrie defender David Bates.
‘We came in after St Mirren and Ross County and were frustrated but others haven’t taken full points from their games either. ‘You look at it as: “What if?”.
We need to start taking care of that on the pitch and everything else will take care of itself.
‘If we start to pick up three points like we should, then we should climb the table.
‘As a club, we should be better positioned in the table and it’s up to us to get the points on the board.’