Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson is relishing the autumn days of his career after too many years plagued by injuries.
The 35-year-old was outstanding as the Dons won 2-0 against St Johnstone on Saturday at McDiarmid Park with wonderful goals from Peter Pawlett and Niall McGinn.
The victory moved Aberdeen up to fourth in the Premiership and, with his club still in both cup competitions, former Scotland defender Anderson is relishing his second stint with his hometown team after his years in England with Sunderland and Derby County were marred by a succession of injuries.
Anderson showed his value with a dominant defensive display against Saints, who had former Aberdeen attacker Rory Fallon sent off less than a minute after he came on to the field for a flailing elbow which clattered into defender Michael Hector.
Anderson is determined to enjoy every game. He said: “I’m just happy to be playing regularly for a team which is full of confidence. Mark Reynolds, Michael Hector and Andrew Considine all played really well and Jamie Langfield made a great save when he had to against Saints. The players in front of us are well drilled and their work make things easier for us.
“I am enjoying my football now because of the months I had when I was constantly injured.
“I have had an awful lot of injuries which have taken their toll. I would sit in the stand and watch. It was pretty demoralising. I was watching the games with my kids, which I am sure they liked, but they would have wanted to see me out on the pitch and it’s really on a Saturday when it hits home.”
Aberdeen had 1,903 supports in a crowd of 4,741 on Saturday and the captain added: “The supporters have been crying out for something to be optimistic about and we will enjoy this win.
“We didn’t start the game we way we did against Partick the previous week but Peter’s goal settled us down nicely. After that we were competitive throughout the game and restricted them to one effort. It was a crucial save from Jamie because if they had scored at that point it would have been a different game.
“We have big games coming up. I don’t want to look too far ahead because that is being disrespectful to St Mirren who we play on Saturday but we know we are heading into a busy time and we just want to win as many games as we can.”