The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
McGrath calls for an end to hoodoo at Hibs
Aberdeen can right the wrongs of their last visit to Easter Road when they visit Hibs tomorrow, says Jamie McGrath.
The Dons were made to pay for a lack of killer touch in front of goal in their 2-0 Premiership loss on December 3.
If they can take their chances in Edinburgh this weekend and record their first league victory over the Hibees at the fourth attempt this season, the Reds know they will leapfrog their hosts into seventh – top of the bottom six – in the top-flight.
Midfielder McGrath said: “It was probably one of the best performances of the season, but typical of us, we didn’t get the job done on the day.
“We created five or six really good chances, and Bojan (Miovski) missed a penalty – for whatever reason the ball just wouldn’t go in the net.
“But we can take confidence from going down and playing very well that day.
“It’s a great place to play. A big open stadium, great pitch – I think that will suit us at the minute and think it will be a very interesting game.”
Aberdeen head to Easter Road on a six-game unbeaten run in the Premiership and have won their last two outings - 1-0 home victories against Motherwell and St
Johnstone. McGrath thinks the Dons’ recent resurgence has been aided by interim manager Leven’s work with the club’s attacking players.
He said: “We have a lot of creative talented players up there and what we’re doing on the training pitch is obviously helping us.
“We’re working on different combinations, playing a bit more freely.
“A bit of confidence helps with that as well. I know we’ve only won 1-0 over the last two weeks, but I think we’ve not been bad value for that, and think we could have been three or four-up in a few of the games.”
Leven missed last weekend’s Pittodrie win over Saints after it was discovered on Friday he needed an emergency operation to clear an infection from his left hip.
But the interim boss watched the game on a live stream from his hospital bed, while communicating on the phone with the caretaker coaching team led by under-18s coach
Scott Anderson. Despite getting the win against St Johnstone, McGrath says the players have been glad to have Leven back on the Cormack Park training pitch with them this week ahead of the clash with Hibs, after the “weird dynamic” of last weekend.
He said: “Obviously it’s tough what’s been happening to Pete over the past few weeks – he’s been in a lot of pain, so hopefully now that’s the end of it and he’s on the road to recovery.
“He’s still got a drip in his arm and he’s not moving too well, but he’s still out on the grass with us now and it’s good to have him back.”
• Aberdeen have appointed Stuart Glennie as the club’s new youth academy director.
Glennie says it is “an honour” to be appointed to the role and insists he will be relentless in the pursuit of taking through top talent with the Dons.
He re-joined the Dons in the summer of 2023 as
head of academy coaching. Glennie had previously worked as the performance coach for the Scottish FA Performance School at Hazlehead Academy for 11 years.
Glennie said: “It’s a real honour for me to be appointed as AFC youth academy director.
“As a lifelong fan of the club I understand the importance and have a real passion for developing young players.