Condemnation of my players is over the top claims Mcinnes
● Dons manager thinks ‘Aberdeen eight’ have suffered enough for Covid breach
Aberdeen manager Derek Mcinnes has demanded that critics lay off the eight players forced to self-isolate after breaking coronavirus guidelines, with four of the group set to feature against St Johnstone this evening.
The Pittodrie club are returning to action for the first time since an ill-advised night out by a group of players following the 1-0 opening day defeat by Rangers forced their season to be temporarily suspended.
Two players subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 and another six were forced to self-isolate, causing the original match with St Johnstone to be called off 24 hours before kick-off at the start of a chaotic few days for Scottish football.
Mcinnes welcomes back four of the so-called “Aberdeen
eight” with Craig Bryson, Dylan Mcgeouch, Jonny Hayes and Matty Kennedy all having returned to training at Cormack Park this week.
The eight players involved issued a public apology for their “huge error of judgment” and said they did not “deliberately flaunt [sic] or disobey government guidelines”.
Mcinnes stressed the players have now suffered enough. They have been severely reprimanded and fined by the club and are awaiting the outcome of a Scottish FA disciplinary meeting next week. Chairman Dave Cormack has expressed concern for the players’ mental health as they prepare to return to action after such a difficult and often surreal period when they were taken to task by Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, among others. They were also the subject of online abuse.
“I think you’re naturally quite resilient when you’re involved in football,” said Mcinnes. “We get criticised for our performances and all the rest of it, so we’re all well-versed on having bad days – and people making comment.
“I think what happened was above and beyond that, really. The condemnation for my players was over the top. I was thinking: ‘Right, enough’s enough. When is this going to stop?’”
The two Aberdeen players tested positive for Covid 19 in the wake of the night out remain on the
Hayes, Michael Devlin, Scott Mckenna, Matty Kennedy, Sam Cosgrove, Dylan Mcgeouch, Craig Bryson and Bruce Anderson broke coronavirus guidelines during a team night out. The 8 August date at Mcdiarmid Park was the first clash to be shelved after two members of Derek Mcinnes’ team tested positive for coronavirus, with the six others forced to self-isolate.
However, an understanding Davidson is refusing to complain about the fact his side were denied the chance to take on Aberdeen when they were down to the bare bones.
He said: “It’s a difficult time and one with a lot of unknowns. Unfortunately Aberdeen were the club where something happened, so [am I irritated]? No not really.
“I don’t see it [as being unfair]. I saw it as another game that has just been postponed for Covid reasons. We just have to move on. If I sit now and think, ‘Oh they could be playing without eight players’ then I’m not doing my job.
“The governing body make the rules and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just have to prepare my team.
“If I start getting all bitter about it then I don’t think I’m doing my job right.
“Whatever team Aberdeen put out it will be strong. I’ll just be concentrating on playing them as if it was before.
“I think it’s tough because the rules are always moving and changing. There are these unknowns. We all got a little shock and a little fright with what happened to Aberdeen.”
Saints will look to build on their first win of the season against Kilmarnock last weekend.
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sidelines. Mcinnes has been very clear in accepting the club had to be humble and take criticism on the chin. However, he believes the condemnation became excessive as people lined up to denounce the players, who were already reeling from the impact of their actions. Hibs owner Ron Gordon recently suggested he was open to the idea of points deductions for those clubs with players caught breaking Covid-19 guidelines.
“A lot of people should know better before passing judgment,” said Mcinnes. “There are a lot of clubs breathing a huge sigh of relief.
“Everyone let their guard down, there’s no doubt about that. Things started to normalise. There was a cluster in Aberdeen. That may well be another area of Scotland and it makes us a bit more vulnerable and at risk.
“So it may well be someone else’s turn down the line. But we gave people an opportunity to criticise rightly. We apologised as a club and to the rest of authorities, to our supporters and everyone else across the board.
“The players apologised, too. There comes a point wherewemoveon.nobody has never not made a mistake and I do think we have to have that consideration.
“If there are further punishments down the line we’ll speak about it then,” he added. “They are a great set of lads. I was disappointed at the time but as soon as they walk back through the door we’re here to give them that support. Now we try and look after each other.”