Jimmy Calderwood can draw from almost a full team when Aberdeen play Motherwell at Pittodrie tomorrow. Long term casualty Richie Byrne is still joined on the sidelines by ex-Ajax striker Dyron Daal but Calderwood is delighted to have Jamie Smith and Monday night goal scorer Steve Lovell back in his selection plans for his 101st game in charge of the Dons.
Calderwood has made it clear that he would like new faces at the club come January as although he has quite a strong first team, he doesn`t think he has the strength in depth that can push the team to European qualification. He feels the fringe players such as Jamie Winter and Kyle MacAulay have not shown the same progression or form as previous seasons and they, amongst others, could be used as makeweights in transfer deals.
Vital Quotes:
Aberdeen Team News:
The manager is always working within financial restraints as he tries to mould a team capable of competing and he has stated his desire to freshen the dressing room up to maintain progress and momentum.
He said “You would always like to invest in players but it is going to be very difficult for us.
‘The squad is still a wee bit inexperienced and we have probably only got 17 or 18 players who could play continually for us in the first team. That means if we have four or five injuries we are really down to the bare bones and it would be nice to bring in a bit more experience.
‘It obviously costs money, though, unless you are able to get someone in on a free transfer and the bank manager dictates what we are able to do.
‘It would be nice to get two or three players in when the transfer window opens. Realistically, it will be impossible.
‘We have watched people in England and we have players in mind but we will not have a lot of money to spend. Things are so difficult financially across the whole of Scottish football.’
The team goes into this match having reversed the early season trend of losing crucial late goals on its head and has now scored two very significant late goals of their own, Severin`s winner against Hibs and Lovell`s last minute equalizer against Caley.
As Calderwood looks to move up the table, he knows the Motherwell match will be very difficult as it traditionally is and especially as they have hit a run of good form recently. These sentiments are echoed by club captain Russell Anderson who knows the value of tomorrow`s match against the Steelmen.
‘Saturday is a big game for our season because we know that three points this weekend, and then again next week against St. Mirren, and we’re in really good shape. But life’s not as simple as that because the thing we’ve seen in the SPL this season is you can’t take any side for granted. Motherwell had a slow start but they’re right back in co
Player to watch: Jamie Smith
Motherwell Team News:
Martyn Corrigan has been back in training in recent weeks, although his progress has been hampered by poor weather and the Killie game this week interrupting his training programme.
It was also hoped that he could make his return in the reserve game with Rangers this week but that game has had to be cancelled with Rangers players on International duty.
Manager Maurice Malpas said, ‘It would be stupid to rush Martyn back but we are looking to arrange a closed doors game next week to give him 20 minutes or so.
