Glass: Fans will take to Reds’ new right-back

Aberdeen boss Stephen Glass insists Ronald Hernandez’s loan deal to Atlanta United is separate from the Dons’ acquisition of Jack Gurr.

Hernandez has been with the MLS side since the start of the year, after a frustrating 12 months with the Dons.

Fellow full-back Gurr joined Aberdeen this summer, linking up with his old Atlanta coach Glass after his time in the States came to an end.

While stating that Hernandez remains a Dons player – he is contracted until 2024 – Glass also made a strong defence for the acquisition of Gurr.

He told RedTV: “Ronnie’s on loan at Atlanta until December. I think some people are asking with Jack (Gurr) here going the other way, it looks a bit strange. But the two things are totally independent.

“Ronnie probably suffered through Covid more than most. He was here in Aberdeen while his wife and family were on the other side of the world.

“There was an opportunity for the club to put him on loan to the MLS and Atlanta took him, which was great because of the partnership.

“He’s with his family and you can tell he’s happy, because I’ve seen him myself. We’ll see how it sits in December but he remains an Aberdeen player who is out on loan.

“What Jack Gurr is, is he’s a very good right-back. He never had opportunities when he was younger – he didn’t come through an academy system. He came and played for myself with the second team and he was fantastic.

“One of my fears in not being able to get Jack was that Gabriel (Heinze) was going to like him too much. He made him a first-choice right-back. Jack is going to be a good right-back for us and compete for his position, like everyone else.

“I wouldn’t be thinking of Jack as fourth or fifthchoice at Atlanta and thinking negatively before anyone sees him playing.

“That’s a blinkered viewpoint. Jack’s got an opportunity to show anyone who’s negative on his position that they’re wrong.”

Glass feels he has added the quality necessary to strengthen the side.

Gurr, Teddy Jenks, Christian Ramirez, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Declan Gallagher and Scott Brown have all penned deals at Pittodrie.

Glass added: “I think the players we’ve added, the quality we’ve added, we’ve not added huge numbers, but we’ve got young players coming through as well that appeared last year and now they’re threatening the first team positions.

“It’s important to remember what we’ve added and what we’ve got coming through as well.

“Right from the start, Scott came in early, Christian Ramirez and joined us, Declan Gallagher has joined us, JET’s joined us. They are all really attractive signings. Teddy Jenks comes in from Brighton and has a great pedigree as a youth international with England. He comes in ready to help us compete in the midfield.

“Jack Gurr has come in from Atlanta. He’s really going to be a big addition as well and I think people maybe underestimate it. I think the fans will like him when they see him. He will compete with young Calvin (Ramsay), (Ross) McCrorie play right-back, Connor McLennan can play right-back.

“Woodsy has also signed a permanent contract and having a No 2 who can push Joe is important and I think it’s important we’ve got that right across the pitch.

“The players we’ve brought in are very high level players, real winners and I think the first signing that I made as a manager in Scott Brown; I’ll be doing well if I make another signing as good as that in my whole time as a manager.”