THE numbers that paint a picture of Graeme Shinnie as one of Scottish football’s thugs leave Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, scratching his head.
His captain has been booked an astonishing 12 times this season – more than any other Premiership player – yet McInnes insists referees are too quick to punish the midfielder who he believes has garnered an unfair reputation as a dirty player.
Shinnie, as energetic a player as there is in the game, picked-up his latest caution from referee Andrew Dallas in the away win over Ross County in midweek in what seemed to be an innocuous infringement.
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Shinnie will miss important fixtures – first against Hibs at Easter Road on February 17, then for the Pittodrie visit of Celtic eight days later – which may damage his side’s challenge for second place.
“For anyone that was at Dingwall the other night,” McInnes said. “That booking was so harsh. I’ve watched it back and it was his first foul in the game. For me, it’s not stopping a promising attack as it’s outside Ross County’s penalty area. There were a few other fouls that went on that weren’t punished but a foul’s a foul and is not always a yellow card.
“There are others in the league who seem to get a wee bit more leeway in terms of fouls but Shinnie doesn’t. He’s not innocent by any stretch of the imagination but I can think of three or four times this season when he’s been booked and it’s been really harsh on him.
“We are not going to change him because he makes more tackles than most players in the SPL. He certainly makes more tackles than any other player we’ve got and that’s his game but not every tackle is a yellow card.”
Freddie Woodman, meanwhile, returns to Scottish football as the Aberdeen loanee, his move from Newcastle United rubber-stamped after he appeared on Newcastle United’s bench for their 1-1 home draw with Burnley on Wednesday night.
The England Under-20 World Cup winner, who had 15 appearances for Kilmarnock in the second half of last season, recalled making his debut for the Rugby Park side, a 1-0 defeat to Hamilton in the Scottish Cup a year ago courtesy of a Rakish Bingham spot-kick.
Today, he’s likely to face Hamilton at Pittodrie with new striker, Sam Cosgrove, signed from Carlisle United, also in the squad.
“I wanted a clean sheet on my debut for Kilmarnock,” he said. “I’m obsessed about them and I was focused on doing everything right. We went out of the cup as well which was disappointing as it was a chance to win silverware which we all wanted. I seem to come up against Hamilton a lot. I think I’ve played them five times now. It’s great to be here and be part of a fantastic club that’s going in the right direction. It was disappointing but hopefully this time it can be a different result.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton midfielder Darian MacKinnon begins a lengthy absence as his team-mates travel to Pittodrie after suffering a knee injury against Dundee last weekend.
But 20-year-old Manchester United midfielder Charlie Scott could make his debut after joining on loan. David Templeton is suspended and Ali Crawford (knee) and Rakish Bingham (knock) remain on the sidelines.