Aberdeen are right to give Graeme Shinnie breathing space to make the decision on his future.
Club captain Shinnie’s contract expires at the end of the season and he has yet to make a call on whether he will be at Pittodrie next season.
At 27, Shinnie is at a crossroads in his career and is faced with a huge decision on which route he goes down.
Hopefully he opts to remain at Aberdeen as he is probably the most important player at the club at the moment.
However, putting pressure on a player or setting a deadline for an answer does not work.
It is not the way to do business nowadays.
Shinnie needs the time and space to fully assess his options before making a decision on his future.
He is not the type of player who would take advantage of that as there is clearly mutual respect between Shinnie and manager Derek McInnes.
There is also that respect between the captain and the club.
The Scotland international is vital to the team and if Shinnie’s energy is not there in the heart of midfield Aberdeen are not the same side.
When Aberdeen are not at the top of their game it is generally because Shinnie is having an off day.
Both Shinnie’s goals against St Johnstone were superb and the right-footed finish was an exceptional take.
Hopefully Shinnie makes a decision sooner or later.
Obviously there will come a point when both Shinnie and the club will have to make a decision but we are nowhere near that stage yet.
The next few months will be crucial in the club captain’s career and hopefully he sees his future at Pittodrie.
He underlined his importance to Aberdeen with two superb goals in the 2-0 defeat of St Johnstone in Perth.
Scotland manager Alex McLeish was at McDiarmid Park to take in the action.
There was previously debate about Shinnie’s credentials at international level.
However when you see the quality of those goals and the level of performance he produced there can be no doubt Shinnie is international material.
That debate has been put to bed.
Anyone who sees Shinnie playing regularly and has knowledge of what makes an international player would have to say that he has the credentials to take that role on with Scotland.
Alex has done well in giving Scottish Premiership players an opportunity rather than going for those in the second tier in England.
That is the right way to go about it and the end product is that Scotland-based players like Shinnie will get their chance with the national team under Alex.
Shinnie’s goals were the difference against St Johnstone in a very open game with plenty of chances at either end.
The midfield was really open which is unusual to see in these games as it can usually be crowded.
For both teams the first thought was to go forward and try to create rather than play square passes. Both managers set out to attack and that resulted in an exciting match.
It was important for Aberdeen to bounce back from the disappointment of dropping points when drawing 2-2 with St Mirren, the Premiership’s bottom side.
They secured a vital win to remain five points behind Rangers, with captain Shinnie driving the team on.
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