Teenage defender Mason Hancock aims to repay boss Jim Goodwin for giving him a second chance to impress.
The 19-year-old made his Dons’ debut in the 2-0 Premier Sports Cup defeat of Peterhead on the opening day of the season. That debut lasted less than half an hour as Hancock was taken off injured.
Hancock admits he initially feared he had suffered a bad injury.
On confirmation the injury wasn’t as severe as feared, the teen sought out manager Goodwin for talks about his debut performance.
Goodwin retained faith in the teen and pitched him in from the start in the 2-0 win over Dumbarton.
Hancock responded with a strong performance and is now hoping to start against Stirling Albion in the Premier Sports Cup tonight.
The 19-year-old spent last season on loan at Stirling and is indebted to the League Two club for helping his development.
However, he is determined to deliver a defeat to his former loan club tonight.
Hancock said: “I thought it was a bad one (injury) against Peterhead.
“It’s not how you want your debut to go or how you picture it.
“It’s a long season though. I pulled the gaffer for a chat after and told him it wasn’t my best 25 minutes and that hopefully I’d get another opportunity.
“I thank him for giving me that chance on Wednesday night at Pittodrie (v Dumbarton).
“I enjoyed the game, focused on doing the simple things right and I was pleased with how I played.”
‘You do everything you can to impress’
Left-sided defender Hancock, who can also play centre-back, was originally part of the Fulham Academy.
Hancock insists it was a proud moment for both him and his family when he made his debut when starting against Peterhead.
He signed for Aberdeen in August 2020 after a successful trial.
Hancock said; “It’s been a really good start to the season.
“It’s what you aim for as a young player in pre-season, can you break through?
“You do everything you can to impress, so to get that moment means a lot to me and my family so I’m very happy.
“The team was announced the day before.
“It’s hard not to think about whether you will get the chance, but I felt like I’d done enough so it was nice to hear.”
Return to Stirling Albion after loan
Hancock signed a contract extension in January before being sent out on loan to lower league Stirling Albion.
He will make a quick-fire return to the Forthbank Stadium tonight in the Premier Sports Cup group A clash.
Stirling are managed by former Aberdeen midfielder Darren Young, who made more than 150 appearances for the Dons from 1995 to 2003.
Hancock said: “My time at Stirling Albion did me the world of good, getting men’s football.
“We won’t take anything for granted against them because they are a good side.
“They have good players and I really enjoyed playing there.
“It’s a big step up at Aberdeen, but in all fairness Stirling can take some credit for getting me ready for it.
“Darren Young was the manager. We had some good chats and he couldn’t stress enough that I am in the right place to develop.
“Aberdeen is the perfect place for me right now. He has a lot of good stuff to say about the club.”
Valuable advice from former Don
Hancock played 15 times for Stirling last season, with 14 of the appearances starts.
Young offered vital advice to the youngster.
He said: “His information to me was just to believe in yourself.
“Know you’ve got it, know you can do it and just believe in yourself and work hard on and off the pitch.”
The benefits of going out on loan
Midfielder Connor Barron, who will miss the Stirling game through injury, has delivered the blueprint for a successful loan spell.
The 19-year-old spent the first half of last season on loan at League Two Kelty Hearts, the eventual league title winners.
Barron was recalled from the loan spell in January and signed a contract extension within days of returning to Pittodrie.
The teen is now a regular first team starter for boss Jim Goodwin and is on the radar of Celtic and Belgian club Genk.
Aberdeen have opened up talks with Barron and his representative in the bid to secure the teen on an extended contract.
Hancock said: “You can see the benefits of loan spells like that with Connor Barron.
“Obviously Connor was in the same league as I was and did really, really well there.
“He came back and has done really well here.
“It shows that it can be done, playing for a lower league team and making the step up.”
Hancock was linked with another loan move this summer, to Championship Arbroath.
That never materialised, and now he is focused on grabbing his chance with the Dons.
He said: “There was some chat (about Arbroath). It was never finalised.
“But I heard about it in the break and it was always going to be looked at.
“That would have been a step up, but hopefully I can take this chance.”
Facing Rangers in cup action at Ibrox
Hancock experienced more than League Two action with Stirling Albion last season.
He started against Rangers in a 4-0 Scottish Cup defeat at Ibrox on January 21 in front of 37,916 supporters.
The teen said: “I played against Rangers last season.
“I’d just gone on loan at that point.
“I was two weeks into my loan and saw that on the fixture list.
“I was just telling myself: ‘break through to play against them’.
“I’m glad that I did and that will have helped me a lot playing in front of a crowd like that against a team like that.
“I was up against Brandon Barker.
“I didn’t know much about him to be fair, but he was quick. He liked to come inside so I had to deal with Tavernier, too.”
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