MICHAEL DEVLIN is the leader Derek McInnes wants at the heart of his Aberdeen defence and when the Hamilton centre-back put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club he made it clear his aim is to be winning trophies with his new employers.
Devlin, still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury that has kept him out of action since May last year, spurned the advances of English Champion ship outfit Preston North End in favour of become an Aberdeen player for an undisclosed sum.
He insisted that as soon as he was made aware of interest from Pittodrie, he was keen to team-up with McInnes, a long-time admirer, who has now signed three captains from other clubs.
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“The manager spoke to me and said he had big plans for myself and the club,” 24-year-old Devlin said.
“And that was enough as he was really positive. At this stage in my career it was a fantastic move and I couldn’t wait to get the chance to come back here. Another couple of months hopefully and I will be ready to go as February, March time was the estimated time to return to playing. The Pittodrie medical team are confident they will get me in good shape and ready to play for the club, so I am eager to get started and get back on the pitch.
“We want to compete at the top end of the league and compete for silverware and that matches my ambitions in the game as well. That’s why I started playing football to get the opportunity to play in cup finals and win trophies and compete at the top of the league.”
McInnes could not hide his delight at pulling off the signing, although his mood was tempered by the news that goalkeeper Joe Lewis, hurt in the midweek defeat to Rangers, will need knee surgery next week and could be out for a lengthy period.
“We have signed the Inverness captain Graeme Shinnie,” McInnes said.
“The St Mirren captain Kenny McLean and Michael Devlin, the Hamilton captain.
“There is a reason why they were captains of their previous teams. They have that influence. I am always attracted to that. I like his personality and I like himeven more now that I have met him. He has had to deal with some injuries but I am pretty sure he will overcome them. It is part and parcel of the game. His temperament and his approach to his career will help him be a success at Aberdeen.”
McInnes confirmed a third bid from Hull City for his young centre-back Scott McKenna had been rejected ahead of today’s visit of Kilmarnock.
Meanwhile, the manager of today’s opponents, Steve Clarke, has told Scotland’s governing bodies to get their act together regarding fixtures.
Clarke has seen both this week’s scheduled Ladbrokes Premiership match against St Johnstone and next week’s visit of Dundee wiped out because of their opponents’ William Hill Scottish Cup replays.
That leaves Clarke’s side with three games to be rescheduled, having also had their trip to Hamilton last month called off at the last minute because of snow.
He said: “It’s a situation that could be easily avoided by having just one replay date and everybody should play on it. Then we wouldn’t have the situation where we have lost two league games to cup replays. Fixture congestion is now something that concerns me because our game at Hamilton was called off last month so we now have three fixtures to fit in.
“There is already a midweek schedule for the end of February – we play Hearts on a Tuesday night – then there is a two-week international break.
“Then these three postponed games will need to be put in before the split. It’s a little bit troubling that we don’t have dates for them.
“Whoever schedules the matches needs to have a good look at how this happens. The SFA and the SPFL have to come together and work out the best way to fit these fixtures in.”