Niall McGinn has picked the perfect time to show manager Stephen Glass he can be part of the new era at Aberdeen.
The veteran is one of several Dons players out of contract this summer and, with Glass expected to overhaul the team for next season, it seems certain there will be a revolving door of players in and out of Pittodrie before the new campaign gets under way.
The legs maybe don’t move as quickly as they used to, but McGinn showed on Saturday he still has much to offer to the club.
His finish for the first equaliser against Livingston was from the top drawer and he was involved in setting up Florian Kamberi for the second leveller in extra time to take the Scottish Cup fourth round tie to penalties.
That’s the sort of desire and contribution Glass will be looking for from his players.
I’m pleased to see McGinn back in the fold at Aberdeen. He found himself out of the picture for much of the first half of the season under Derek McInnes and it looked as if he would be heading for the exit door this summer.
But a change of manager seems to have offered a fresh chance for the Northern Ireland international and he certainly looks determined to take it.
If McGinn can keep it going in the remaining games then he will give Stephen a big decision to make, but it’s the sort of tough call which any manager wants to have on his desk.
For Stephen, he’ll just be happy to have started with a win and to now have a home tie in the quarter-final against Dundee United on Sunday to look forward to is fantastic.
There has been little between the teams so far this season – one goal in fact – but Aberdeen now have a great chance to reach the semi-finals at Hampden and they should be feeling confident.
The Dons still have a chance of finishing third in the Premiership too but I will be interested to see what team is selected for tomorrow’s league game against Celtic at Pittodrie.
For me, the Scottish Cup has become the top priority for Aberdeen and if I was Stephen I’d be focusing all my energy on Sunday’s game ahead of tomorrow’s match.
Talking of Stephen, I got the shock of my life when I heard him speak for what feels like the first time in years. The soft spoken, shy young lad who sat in the dressing room at Pittodrie when we were team-mates has been replaced by a gruff man who has a look of determination about him.
Celtic face huge task to close the gap
While Aberdeen look at making a late push for Scottish Cup glory, Celtic are now resigned to the fact their era of dominance in Scottish football is officially at an end as they face up to the reality of the campaign ending with no silverware.
It has been a fantastic run for the Hoops and a quadruple treble will live long in the memory, but it is because of that dominance that their fall from grace has come as such a shock.
What has been really damning is the lack of activity at the club. Eddie Howe has been linked with the job all season and was the frontrunner but we are no nearer knowing whether he will become the next manager.
Neil Lennon left the club in February and the club seems to be stuck in neutral. Decisions on players need to be made but there is no one there to make them.
The dithering and delaying has already led to captain Scott Brown deciding to call time on his Hoops career for a move to Aberdeen and it is only adding to the size of the task the next boss faces in trying to close the gap on a Rangers team which has been streets ahead of everyone this season.
Super League plan is all about greed
I could not agree with television pundit Gary Neville enough following his scathing response to the news six English clubs have signed up to a proposal to form a European Super League.
Collective effort… well said @GNev2! https://t.co/OqnWifVL7G
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) April 20, 2021
When the news of this development, which is being led by clubs from England, Spain and Italy, broke on Sunday I was disgusted.
I turned to my wife and said if this becomes a reality then I’ll be immediately cancelling my subscription with whichever broadcaster tries to show these games.
It is pure greed and nothing else and to announce this at a time when so many clubs are on their knees due to a pandemic is disgusting.
I suspect it is a power play from clubs to get more money out of their domestic leagues or Uefa, but I can tell you now, although I’m a Chelsea fan, I refuse to watch any of this and I suspect I won’t be alone.