Aberdeen defender Andy Considine has hailed chairman Dave Cormack for his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Long-serving Considine admits he feared for the future of the club due to the financial hit of the coronavirus shutdown.
The 33-year-old accepts clubs outwith Celtic and Rangers are more vulnerable to the football shutdown. However, he believes Cormack’s guidance through the toughest period in the Reds’ 117-year history ensured the club remains strong.
When Scottish football shutdown on March 13 Cormack warned the club faced £5 million financial blackhole.
In response Cormack and fellow investors injected £2m into the club and the chairman also called for supporters to buy season tickets. The Red Army responded by snapping up 6,400 season tickets for next season.
Considine said: “The chairman Dave Cormack has handled the situation unbelievably well.
“He only took over the reins six months ago and I am sure he could not have seen this coming.
“It was a huge worry to start with because outwith the Old Firm there is not too much money going around in Scottish football. However, throughout this Dave has put the club first.
“It was a worrying time but the chairman and everyone involved have made our lives that little bit easier during this tough time.”
Aberdeen are set to return to socially-distanced training on June 11 and the SPFL have set a target of an August 1 restart for the Premiership.
The Dons have not played since a 3-1 defeat of Hibs at Pittodrie on March 7.
Considine is delighted there is finally some clarity on a return to action.
He said: “I have never had three months off. It is tough for everyone involved but great to hear that they are looking at the start of August.
“All being well hopefully by the end of this month we can get back to some sort of normality.August will be something to look forward to.”
Chairman Cormack this week claimed he hopes to have partial crowds at Pittodrie by November or December.
Cormack’s target is to have Pittodrie fully open to supporters in January.
Considine said: “I think we will play the first three or four months behind closed doors. Then we will hopefully start to get fans back. Football is not the same without fans.
“I could see that with the Bundesliga – it looks eerie watching that. It reminds me of an under-18s or reserve game.
“However, we have to do what is best for everybody’s health and wellbeing.”