ABERDEEN APPOINT POTTER
Aberdeen FC have shocked the footballing world by handing unknown manager, Andy Potter the full time manager's job. The news was revealed in a statement via the Aberdeen website last night and Potter was unveiled to the media this morning with radical plans to rebuild the club following the recent fallings of Mark McGhee.
Potter has never managed a football club but insists that he's the right man for the job. He said "I don't have any straight football experience but we all start somewhere, I'm very happy that I have been given the opportunity to manage a club like Aberdeen."
Chairman, Stewart Milne was also in attendance at the Press Conference and insists they just haven't went for the cheap option, he revealed, " Andy really impressed us in the interview and he came across head and shoulders above the rest, we believe he is the right man to lead the club to the next level." When asked about Aberdeen's playing budget for the season, Milne said "We don't have a set budget but if we sell, we can buy although we don't have to sell to balance the books but if Andy wants to make some changes, he'll have to sell players first"
When asked about the future of star players such as Charlie Mulgrew and Zander Diamond, who have both been linked with moves away from the club, Potter said " These are players I want to keep here, in order to be successful, we will need to keep our best players, Charlie and Zander certainly fall under that category. Before I decide on any players future, I need to get a proper look at their abilities first and whether they are fit to play for the club."
Potter's squad currently stands as:
Goalkeepers:
Jamie Langfield
Stuart Nelson
Defenders:
Ricky Foster
Jonathan Crawford
Stuart Duff
Davide Grassi
Jim Paterson (On season-long loan from Plymouth)
Jerel Ifil
Zander Diamond
Andrew Considine
Charlie Mulgrew
Midfielders:
Peter Pawlett
Mark Kerr
Gary McDonald
Fraser Fyvie
Derek Young
Sone Aluko
Forwards:
Steve MacLean (On season-long loan from Plymouth)
Darren Mackie
Michael Paton
Mitchel Megginson
On his current squad, Potter said "We look very heavy in defence and our midfield has too many players who play in the same position, and up front we simply don't have enough numbers. We have drafted in Mitch Megginson from the under 19s both to bolster the numbers and hopefully to add more quality to our attack. One pleasing thing is that we have several top class young players who can go on and have an impact in the game such as Sone Aluko, Fraser Fyvie, Peter Pawlett and Jonathan Crawford."
When asked about his tactical approach to the game, Potter said " My philosophy in football is to pass the ball, it's that simple, we don't want to lump the ball up to a big target man constantly, you won't get anywhere doing that, the only way I see success is to get the ball on the deck and play with it. Not just because it is easy on the eye but it helps influence positive results. One thing we want at this club is a general togetherness and a belief that we can play well together, we have some good players here who have taken knocks in their career. This is their chance to step up and ressurect that."
Aberdeen's competitive season starts with a tricky opening match at home to Celtic, Potter said "We're looking at it in a positive way, we can sit back and say 'Celtic are going to beat us' or we can look at it and say 'This is a good opportunity to get off to a good start. If we play to our full potential, we will be very difficult to beat."
