The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
McKenna back from brink to live dream with Dons
Taylor insists McInnes will be proved right Turnaround: Defender’ s meteoric rise after having doubts over future
Former Aberdeen defender Ash Taylor has backed the Dons to make another Scottish Cup final – and prove manager Derek McInnes right.
Taylor was in a deflated dressing-room after Tom Rogic’s late winner for Celtic last season denied Aberdeen the chance of a first triumph in the competition since 1990 but remembers McInnes’ efforts to rouse the players.
The Dons’ mantra this season has been to go one better and end their barren run in the competition and victory against Motherwell today will take them one step closer towards that target.
Taylor, who left Aberdeen last summer for Northampton Town following the Celtic defeat, hopes to see his old side back at Hampden Park challenging for the trophy again.
He said: “That final was the worst I’ve felt on a football pitch. I was devastated after coming so close. The dressing-room was very down afterwards but Derek knew what was going on. He told us to come back stronger and that’s what they’ve done.
“It doesn’t surprise me with the job Derek has done and the squad of players he has. The backroom staff, recruitment team and (assistant) Tony Docherty are the best I’ve worked under. With the experience of getting to two cup finals last year, they will go into the game with confidence.
“They’ve still got the majority of that squad and I can’t see anything other than an Aberdeen win.”
Taylor had one of his best games in a red jersey in last year’s final, before he and several other key players, including Jonny Hayes, Peter Pawlett, Niall McGinn and Ryan Jack, left for pastures new.
The man who replaced Taylor in the backline has garnered plaudits for his JAMIE DURENT
Having lunch in Glasgow on the day of last year’s Scottish Cup final, Scott McKenna knew his Aberdeen career was at a crossroads.
A loan spell at Ayr United had been cut short due to poor form and, with his contract due to expire the following summer, he was discussing with his agent Gordon Reid how to best put himself in the shop window.
Fast forward 11 months and he is a Dons regular, has signed two contract extensions up to 2023, has been the subject of a £1million bid from England and is now a Scotland international. Little of that would have felt possible last May when his future looked a lot less rosy.
McKenna said: “I sat with my agent trying to work out what I might need to do if I was going to be released by Aberdeen this 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 the season was to try and play five to 10 games for Aberdeen this season. I hadn’t played for Ayr much and I am maybe wasn’t going to get anything at Aberdeen if I haven’t played. I felt if I could get five or 10 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 and everything was going through my mind at the time, 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.”
That experience at an under-performing Ayr United under Ian McCall was where the penny dropped for the 21-yearold centre back, who had struggled for game-time in a team battling relegation to League 1.
He said: “I wasn’t playing well enough and I got dropped for a game. 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 I was costing a goal a game nearly every game. I think it was Daryll Meggatt that came in and he was solid for five or six games and I could have absolutely no complaints. 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
“That final was the worst I’ve felt on a football pitch” “I wasn’t playing well enough and I got dropped for a game”