Shayden Morris insists Aberdeen will show there is life after Bojan Miovski.
The North Macedonian striker is on the verge of completing a £6.8million move to Spanish club Girona.
The striker, who scored 44 goals in two seasons for the Dons, was emotional as he waved goodbye to the Aberdeen support following Sunday’s 3-1 win over St Mirren at Pittodrie in his final appearance for the club.
Morris knows his team-mate’s departure is a blow for the squad, but has backed the other players in Jimmy Thelin’s squad to fill the void.
Morris said: “Bojan has been very good for us. He has been amazing and deserves the reception he got on Sunday.
“If he does go, he will be a massive miss, but as you can see, we have players who can score and provide goals.
“We even have Graeme Shinnie contributing. It’s good.”
Morris welcomes increased competition
While Miovski heads for pastures new, Topi Keskinen has arrived at the club from HJK Helsinki in a £850,000-plus transfer.
The 21-year-old has signed a four-year deal with the Dons and Morris is excited to welcome Keskinen to the club.
He said: “We hear he is a good player.
“He is a good addition to the squad. That is what we need.
“We need a big squad, because it is a long season as we know. Any more additions would be helpful.”
Keskinen’s arrival will increase the competition for places at Pittodrie.
But with one goal and four assists in his opening six games for the season, Morris is ready to meet the challenge of keeping his place.
He said: “Getting the stats up is a massive thing and something I wanted to do this season.
“It was another assist. Every game it boosts my confidence and we will see where it takes me.”
It is not just Keskinen who will provide competition, of course, with Pape Habib Gueye and Vicente Besuijen both on the scoresheet on Sunday.
Both players spent the second half of last season on loan but have returned to Pittodrie with a point to prove.
Morris said: “That is what all the players need. We are all decent players to be in this position.
“You need a clean slate. If you look at Pape, Vinnie and myself, we all contribute and it is good we have been given this opportunity.
“I am so happy with Vinny – we are staying together at the moment. These moments we talk about. I am really happy for him.”
‘We are taking it game by game’
Sunday’s victory means the Dons and champions Celtic are the only sides in the Premiership to win their opening two league matches.
New boss Thelin has won all six of his games in charge so far and Morris is looking to keep the momentum going.
He said: “We are taking it game-by-game. We have two wins out of two and that is six points on the board.
“If we keep doing what we are doing then we will see where it takes us in the season.
“The manager wants us to be horrible to play against.
“He wants nobody to come to Aberdeen or Pittodrie and enjoy it.
“He wants it to be a nightmare for teams and that is how he sets us up.
“We are hard to play against, attacking and a threat. So far it has been good.”
Morris has revelled in his fresh start under the former Elfsborg manager and believes all the players will continue to improve under the new manager.
He said: “I have learned so much from him already. That is six wins out of six and we just need to keep building.
“He is very good. From day one, his ideas and what he wants to achieve this season, you can’t really not buy into it.
“Every day we have meetings and we are learning every day.
“The way he has set us up and has us going, you wouldn’t want not to play under him.”
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