The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Returning Shinnie to lead battle for Europe
● Third place in sights with Buddies set to visit Pittodrie ● Boss shares ‘frustration’ as VAR decisions mount up
Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie is “desperate” to return to action to lead the bid to finish third, says boss Barry Robson.
Influential skipper Shinnie was ruled out of the Dons’ previous four Premiership games having been hit with a controversial ban.
The on-loan Wigan Athletic midfielder will return for tomorrow’s crunch Pittodrie showdown with St Mirren.
Aberdeen can secure a third-placed finish if they beat the Buddies – and if Hearts fail to win at Rangers.
Despite his enforced four-game absence, boss Robson insists Shinnie has remained influential behind the scenes.
Now, the club captain aims to get Aberdeen’s bid to finish third over the line in his first fixture back.
Robson said: “Graeme is desperate to get back on the pitch.
“He has been great during the suspension, driving the sessions every day in training as you would expect from our captain. He is frustrated, as we all are, as Hearts was his fourth game suspended.”
Aberdeen have opened negotiations with Wigan Athletic in a bid to secure Shinnie on a permanent contract.
Wigan were recently relegated to League 1 and are open to selling the midfielder.
However, it is understood they would seek a six-figure sum.
Captain Shinnie was hit with the hefty ban having received a red card following a VAR review on a 50-50 challenge with Ross County’s Jack Baldwin where the Dons midfielder won the ball.
Aberdeen’s appeal against the red card failed and his ban was increased from the initial three games to four for what an appeals panel deemed a “frivolous” attempt to overturn the dismissal.
The Dons subsequently urged the Scottish FA to urgently review their appeal – but that request was rebuffed.
Aberdeen have taken just four points from the four games Shinnie has missed through suspension.
That extra-game ban, for the “frivolous” nature of the appeal, saw Shinnie ruled out of the weekend’s loss at third-place rivals Hearts.
In contrast, Hearts midfielder Peter Haring’s red card against St Mirren was last week downgraded to a yellow, allowing him to face Aberdeen.
Haring was shown a straight red in the recent 2-2 draw with St Mirren having been adjudged to have stopped St Mirren’s Mark O’Hara’s break away with a foul.
VAR did not ask referee David Dickinson to review the red card incident.
Hearts lodged an appeal and an independent panel found the midfielder not guilty of serious foul play.
Robson said: “We missed Graeme, he was a big miss.
“We got an extra game on the decision.
“And they (Hearts) got theirs overturned – but we crack on.”
Robson’s frustration is not limited to the decisions surrounding the red card and subsequent four-game ban for Shinnie.
He was also disappointed at calls made by referee Kevin Clancy in the loss to Hearts.
Aberdeen were denied a penalty following a VAR review for a challenge on Marley Watkins by Haring.
VAR chose not to send the official to the monitor to review his decision.
There was a sense of deja vu for Robson as the Dons were denied a penalty following a VAR review in the recent 1-0 loss at Rangers for a clumsy challenge by Connor Goldson on Duk.
Robson was booked by referee Clancy at Tynecastle.
He said: “You need referees to make good decisions. I’m being honest, we didn’t get a lot here (Tynecastle).
“It was really frustrating for me.
“They came over and booked me and that has never happened before.
“The frustration of getting things wrong, that’s what it is.
“But we keep moving on.
“We’ve got two games to go and I’ve not had one decision from VAR.
“So the thing I’m massively hopeful about is that surely I’m going to get one in the last two games? Surely?
“We’ve not had those decisions since I’ve been in post.”
Shinnie is not the only influential first-team regular set to return to face St Mirren.
Duk and Ross McCrorie are also set to come back tomorrow to bolster the bid to finish third.
Striker Duk, who has scored 18 goals in all competitions, missed the
loss at Hearts due to a hamstring problem.
McCrorie has missed the previous three games having undergone surgery on a hernia problem.
Bristol City are closing in on a deal to land McCrorie in a £2 million summer transfer.
Robson said: “We have Shinnie, Duk and McCrorie all coming back on Wednesday to help us.
“We will get ready for St Mirren, which will be a great game, and we have these boys coming back to give us a hand.
“We look to Wednesday and it is a great opportunity to get three points.”