Loan midfielder Patrik Myslovic will be given the chance to make a first team impact after impressing in training, Aberdeen boss Barry Robson has confirmed.
Myslovic has made just two substitute appearances under Robson, but the Dons gaffer insists the 21-year-old is a “terrific player”.
Myslovic is battling for a permanent contract having been secured on loan from Slovakian club MSK Zilina until the end of the season.
Aberdeen have an exclusive option to sign the midfielder on a permanent basis in the summer.
Former manager Jim Goodwin brought the Slovakian U21 international to Pittodrie in early January, but was sacked four weeks later.
Myslovic racked up 104 appearances for Zilina, pitching in with 13 goals and 10 assists.
However, he has struggled to secure first team action at Pittodrie and has yet to start in the Scottish Premiership.
Myslovic has featured just four times as a substitute in the league for Aberdeen – a total of 48 minutes of action.
His only start came in the 1-0 Scottish Cup loss at sixth-tier Darvel in January… only for the loanee to be substituted at half-time.
But Robson insists Myslovic will get the chance to shine in the first team before the end of the campaign as the midfielder battles to earn a permanent contract.
He said: “Patrik has really caught the eye. Myself and the staff are really pleased with him.
“He is a terrific player and what a good boy he is as well.
“We have enjoyed working with him and we’ll try to get him on the pitch.”
The importance of young players to Aberdeen
Robson was put in charge of Aberdeen following the sacking of Goodwin on January 28.
Aberdeen were in the bottom six of the Premiership and had won just one match in 10.
Robson has since led the Dons up to third in the Premiership table following a five-game winning steak.
They are back in the mix for European qualification, but Robson admits his initial priority was bringing stability to the Dons.
That meant turning to the more experienced campaigners when the pressure was on to haul the Reds out of their troubles.
Now Robson is ready to turn to the young emerging talent such as Myslovic, who was an unused substitute in the 2-0 defeat of Kilmarnock.
Teenage striker Alfie Bavidge, who turned 17 on Tuesday, was introduced as a substitute against Killie in the 77th minute.
Robson said: “It has been a difficult time for the younger players, because we’ve tried to steady the ship, settle us down a bit.
“And sometimes you need to turn to the more experienced players to help with that.
“The younger ones are enthusiastic and full of life, so they will be important and will start to feature a lot more.
“That energy, youth, legs and ability will be important to us.
“Patrik falls into that bracket.
“He looks like he’ll go on to be a really top player.”
‘You cannot be a good attacking team until you’re a good defensive team’
Under Robson’s guidance, the Reds have secured five consecutive Premiership victories for the first time since August 2015.
The resurgence prompted the Pittodrie hierarchy to confirm Robson will manage the Dons until at least the end of the season.
During their winning streak, Aberdeen have registered four clean sheets.
Prior to Robson taking the reins, the Dons had struggled defensively with just six shut-outs in 23 Premiership games.
Aberdeen were hammered 6-0 at Hibs and 5-0 at Hearts in the two league games before Goodwin was sacked and Robson was made interim boss.
Robson said: “When you look at the game against Kilmarnock that is four out of five clean sheets.
“You cannot be a good attacking team until you’re a good defensive team, it’s fact.
“I think we were that against Kilmarnock.
“Our distances were good – our transitions were really good and for about 25 minutes we looked really dangerous.
“But at other times it was a difficult game and we had to manage it.
“We were up against a Kilmarnock team that were organised and drilled.
“There was a period for about 25 minutes in the second half where you really saw what we look like as a team.
“We were fast, aggressive and we looked electric at times.”
Conversation