Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie is impatient to get a fresh Premiership campaign under way on Monday night – and is pleased the Dons will be going to St Johnstone with keeper Dimitar Mitov in their goal.
Summer signing Mitov, 27, will be making a quick return to his old club in Perth with his Reds team-mates, as new Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin looks to claim victory on his top-flight dugout debut.
After making flawless progress with four wins in the Premier Sports Cup group stage, Shinnie knows all eyes will be on Thelin’s Dons as they meet Premiership opponents for the first time, live on TV.
The skipper said: “We have worked hard in pre-season, to get as much in as possible from the new manager and learn as fast as we can.
“The first league game is always where everyone looks and it can’t come around fast enough now.
“It’s a bit frustrating having to wait until Monday when everyone else has played, but we’ll prepare for it as we always do.
“The cup has got us in good shape. We didn’t get it all our own way and I think that was good for the squad because we were able to pick bits out of games and work on things.”
‘There’s a massive demand to do well at Aberdeen’
Aberdeen still scored 15 goals – and only conceded once – against their lower-league League Cup rivals.
Dons fans, despite Swedish boss Thelin’s ongoing rebuild, would like a significant improvement on last term’s bottom half showing in the Premiership.
For Shinnie, the new league campaign is not about righting wrongs from last season – because success is always demanded by the Red Army.
He said: “We have forgotten about last season. We’re going into this one with a fresh start.
“There’s a massive demand to do well at Aberdeen – we know that and winning games is massively important.
“There’s no better way to do that than to get off to a winning start.”
New team-mate Mitov will want to ‘replicate’ Saints form for Aberdeen
In their pursuit of the first three points of the Premiership campaign, Shinnie is happy the Dons will have the opposition’s reigning player of the year, keeper Dimitar Mitov, in their team.
The Bulgarian international was signed on a three-year deal this summer at the end of his St Johnstone contract.
Shinnie said: “He was very good, their player of the year, but he’s an Aberdeen player now and he’ll be desperate to win it for us.
“I was very impressed by him last season. He did well against us and didn’t concede many goals.
“We want him to replicate what he did there for us now, and hopefully he won’t be as busy for us as he was for St Johnstone last season.
“Ideally we’ll keep the ball away from his goal as much as possible.
“But when you have that protection behind you, it’s always good to know there’s a player there capable of making the saves Dimi makes.”
‘Kelle was a big character, but he wasn’t as boisterous as Dimi’
Shinnie says Mitov’s “livewire character” has made it easy for him to settle in at Pittodrie, and he is a different personality from departed Dutch goalie Kelle Roos.
“We have had some good goalies here during my time,” Shinnie added.
“Going back to having Danny Ward on loan, then Joe Lewis was fantastic for the club for a lot of years.
“Kelle Roos was here and was good for us, so we have had a lot of big players in goal.
“I’m sure Dimi will keep that going. He’s got the personality to come to a club like Aberdeen and do well.
“You need that sort of presence at the back, someone who is a talker.
“They are all different. Kelle was a big character, but he wasn’t loud and stuff. He would speak his mind when he needed to, but he wasn’t as boisterous as Dimi.
“You need someone like that to keep the place going. He’s a great addition.”
McDiarmid Park meetings between St Johnstone and Aberdeen have often been drab affairs, and supporters will hope manager Thelin’s desired brand of attacking Aberdeen football can make lasting rewrites to the script.
Aberdeen need attacking-defending balance, as Clarkson injury gives other players ‘opportunity’
A midfielder who favours a “high energy”, “more box-to-box style”, Shinnie has been able to boost his own contribution in attack in the early part of the season – including finding the net – thanks to having the “insurance policy” of new combatant midfielder partner Sivert Heltne Nilsen.
The skipper insists Aberdeen still need to strike a balance in their play, though, saying: “It will be a hard game. We know from previous games how difficult it is going to St Johnstone.
“We want to be as attacking as we can – the manager has made us well aware of the fact you have to have a threat – but keeping the back door shut is also crucial.”
Somewhere Aberdeen will need to rebalance is in attacking midfield, following the long-term loss of No.10 Leighton Clarkson to a fractured shoulder. It is an injury which has seen him join Dante Polvara (torn hamstring) on the sidelines.
How Thelin will attempt to solve this ill-timed selection conundrum will be clear by 8pm in Perth on Monday, but Shinnie – who said “it’s a blow for Leighton and for us because he’s had a great pre-season and cup games” – added: “We’re gutted for him and for Dante that they’ve picked up injuries, but we have a squad to cope with these things.
“It’s not about individuals – it’s a team game and an opportunity for other people to come in and show what they can do.”
Conversation