Winger Shayden Morris insists he is the fastest player at Pittodrie and aims to help Aberdeen win the race for Europe.
Lightning fast Morris also reckons he is one of the quickest players in the Premiership.
Morris is confident his rapid pace can be a “big threat” and the 23-year-old backs himself to win one-on-ones with opponents.
Such is his speed and ability to beat an opponent, Morris revealed an Elgin City defender said “oh no” when he ran at him in the 3-0 Scottish Cup win.
After scoring against the League Two club in the fourth round, the winger is desperate to secure regular starts under boss Jimmy Thelin.
And he hopes that can begin against St Mirren at Pittodrie on Saturday as the Dons bid to end a 12-game slump without a win in the Premiership.
Asked if he is the fastest at Aberdeen, he said: “Yes, definitely.
“I think Tope (Keskinen) and Duk are second.
“I would say I’m definitely up there (as quickest in the league) and I’ll back myself, yeah
“Pace is a big threat.
“Especially when times weren’t going too well for me, I just reinstated the abilities I have with my pace and one-on-one.
“It’s quite rare to find nowadays.
“Even at the Elgin game, I did hear the defender say, ‘oh no’ when I got the ball one time.
“I do know when I’m definitely at my best, I can cause a lot of problems.”
Conversations with boss Thelin
The Scottish Cup tie at Elgin City was Morris’ first start of 2025 and ended a run of seven games on the bench.
His previous start was in the 1-1 draw with St Johnstone at Pittodrie on December 7.
Morris revealed he has had discussions with Thelin about his desire to become a regular starter.
Signed from Fleetwood Town in the summer of 2022, Morris has made 48 appearances in the Premiership but only eight have been starts.
Morris said: “To be fair, we have had a couple of conversations and he knows I’m hungry, which is the most important thing.
“I’ve told him I do want to play, but I know he has a plan for me and I trust his plan 100%.
“It was very important for me going into that game against Elgin to just show what I can do again from the beginning.
“I do know I’ve had a few games where I’ve impacted off the bench very well, but for me I’m just focusing on getting into the team.
“I am hungry to be in that starting eleven.”
Asked what was said in the talks with Thelin, the winger said: “I think it’s between us two!”
The confidence scoring a goal brings
Aberdeen ended a long winless run when edging out Elgin City in the Scottish Cup.
Morris netted the opener in the first half and also hit the post.
It was his first goal since scoring the winner in a 2-1 triumph against Rangers at Pittodrie on October 30.
That win against the Ibrox club kept the Dons level on points at the top of the Premiership table with leaders Celtic, nine points clear of third-placed Rangers.
Aberdeen’s nosedive in form has dropped them to fourth in the table.
Morris said: “It definitely boosts you up hitting the back of the net.
“It’s a great feeling, especially the Rangers feeling was unbelievable.
“So just to score again definitely gives me a different level of confidence boost going into Saturday.
“I could have had a hat-trick to be fair.
“But for me, I was just happy to be in those goal-scoring opportunities, getting in the right places at the right time.
“So it’s something to build on for me.”
Bidding for bragging rights with friends at St Mirren
Morris is in contention to start against St Mirren on Saturday as Aberdeen bid to end a long league win drought.
The Dons’ last Premiership was a 4-1 win against Dundee on November 9.
Morris will come up against two of his friends who star for the Paisley club.
He said: “I know Richard Taylor and Toyosi Olusanya who are good players.
“We speak day-to-day, but have not been speaking this week
“I know them from London.
“Me and Richard have known each other for quite a while now although we never played together.
“In the off-season, we’ll train together, do sessions together and stuff.
“In London there’s a lot of footballers there, so we all link up and train and do stuff together.”
Conversation