Shayden Morris insists his trials and tribulations of the last two years at Aberdeen have only made him stronger.
The former Fleetwood Town winger has taken his time to settle at the Dons following his move to Pittodrie in 2022.
Morris suffered two serious hamstring tears in his first two seasons with the club and struggled to hold down a regular place in the team as a result.
But after featuring in all six games this season under new manager Jimmy Thelin Morris has repaid the faith shown in him by scoring one goal and providing four assists.
He believes the hardship has only strengthened his resolve.
Morris said: “It is music to my ears. Playing in my position for a manager that trusts me. That is all I have wanted since I came to the club.
“He knows the players he has got. He is trying to get the best out of all the players.
“We have a lot of attacking players and a lot of pace.
“It is a much bigger club than I have been at. The pressure and expectations are a lot different. It did take me a while to get used to it.
“I’ve had my setbacks and stuff but I think it has helped me grow into the person I am.
“I am happy to be playing and helping the team.”
‘It was a hard time for me’
The low point of Morris’ Dons career came in the 3-3 draw with Motherwell in February when he was substituted after 30 minutes with his side 3-0 down.
His deployment as an attacking wing back by interim manager Neil Warnock was exposed by the Steelmen and his early departure was greeted with praise by an unhappy Aberdeen support.
The warm applause and recognition shown following his substitution in the 75th minute of Sunday’s 3-1 win against St Mirren shows Morris’ road to redemption is not going unnoticed by the Red Army.
He said: “It is beautiful. I will never forget those tough times, though.
“That is why I always say don’t get too high and don’t get too low because things change very quickly.
“(Warnock) gave me time off and I needed it a bit. It was a hard time for me.
“I don’t think too many people will come back from these moments and come back to Pittodrie and play and be confident.
“I believe in God and my family helped me a lot. I have put that behind me and I am moving on.”
Morris craves Hampden return with the Dons
Dons boss Thelin has made an instant impact since arriving at the club in the summer, winning all six of his first six matches in charge.
The Dons go in search of win number seven on Saturday when Queen’s Park visit Pittodrie in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup.
Having reached the final of last year’s competition the Dons are focused on earning a return to the National Stadium and with it a chance to bring the trophy back to Aberdeen.
Morris said: “The manager has told us we can get to Hampden. Some players have never played there and some have never won there.
“I have never won there. I have got close and I want to win there and that is a big motivation.
“The ambition is to get back to Hampden.
“I am looking forward to that and hopefully we can get to the quarter-finals.
“We want to try to win and we will see where it goes.
“The Premier Sports Cup games sparked me and got me going. We will see where it takes me.
“Queen’s Park are a league below but they are good teams.
“We played Airdrie and they are very good. I am not really looking at the opposition.
“If we keep playing how we want to play then we will see where it goes.”
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