Speaking exclusively to BOYLE Sports , former Aberdeen player Gordon Strachan has given a wide-ranging insight into the challenges facing the club in the north-east.
Strachan has urged Aberdeen to move on from the Alex Ferguson era and build a new legacy, backed a new stadium to replace Pittodrie , and explained why a fresh environment would transform how Scottish football is perceived.
The former Aberdeen player has also assessed Tony Yogane 's slow start after his move from Dundee , and welcomed the appointment of CEO Adrian Bevington alongside the ambition shown by chairman Dave Cormack .
Tony Yogane
How Do Aberdeen Bring the Best Out of Tony Yogane?
Tony Yogane is still a young man. He was young in terms of senior games as well; he didn't have many senior games under his belt. He was exiting that loan when we first got him to come back, and it took him a while to get going even at Dundee . It took him about a month or two to really get into it, which coincided with Dundee getting better as well. I think as a winger in particular, I watched him at the weekend in the second half, and I thought he added something to the team. But starting a game and coming on as a substitute are completely different things.
When you start, there is actual pressure on you to produce. When you come on as a sub, I don't think there's any real pressure. He came from Brentford Under-21s and environments like that. Nobody really cares what happens in Under-21s football in England . You can do that in the English Under-21 league because nobody really cares about the results. But going to Aberdeen is a different level altogether: three times the crowd, three times the pressure, three times the noise, three times the moaning and groaning, and three times the expectation. Everything is three times harder there.
It reminds me of when I went there as a kid. I took the same journey from Dundee to Aberdeen . I thought it was going to be fine, but wow, I wasn't very good, to say the least, for the first season I was there. After about four months, when my name was read out on the tannoy, it was always greeted with a mumble of indifference. So you have to find it within your character to beat that mumble of indifference. All you can do to overcome it is work as hard as you can and do your best; then you can't look back with regrets because whatever mistakes you make are honest ones. But I thought Tony did well for Aberdeen and looked like a threat in the last 20-odd minutes.
The Stadium Debate
What Is Your View on Aberdeen Aiming to Leave Pittodrie?
Dundee and Aberdeen need new stadiums for different reasons, but there are common denominators. I don't think Dundee can move past how people perceive us as a club that gets a certain amount of supporters playing in a horrible stadium. When you look at it, it looks like you're playing in the 1950s. Aberdeen is a little bit different and has improved slightly. But when I watch on television, given everything going on in the world in terms of modern stadiums, both clubs look like they are behind most others. There's no real skip in the step of any supporter going to these two grounds at the moment.
When you look at new stadiums in England , there's always that build it and they will come Field of Dreams effect. That definitely happens because people want a modern experience. It's no longer just a sport where a man goes to sit, shout, and scream. At Dundee , going to the stadium feels like going back 60 years. Fans want a family environment, a fresh atmosphere, hospitality, and easy access. We are all looking for that now. I know you can't change stadiums every 10 years, but you can at least change them every 120.
Hearing about the Aberdeen side with Alex Ferguson is lovely to look back on, but there comes a point where you have to make your own history. I'm sure Dave Cormack and his staff would like to make their own history. Whether it will be as successful as back then is doubtful because the finances of European football have changed completely, but a new environment would give them a chance to build a new legacy. Sometimes when dealing with legacy, it's a bit like Leeds United . Everyone tells the story about Howard Wilkinson taking down the pictures of the old Don Revie stars. It was actually a homage to them, essentially saying the current team needed to earn the right to have those pictures up by doing the work themselves. You need to create your own success, and then the pictures go back up. To be honest, I'd personally prefer to keep the pictures up, but that was his approach.
What Do You Make of the Appointment of CEO Adrian Bevington?
I got my first fine from the English FA from Adrian ; he sent it to me in a letter! What he forgot to tell me at the time was that I had a suspended sentence attached to that fine, which wasn't written in the letter. I found out on Sky News that I had received a six-week suspension if I committed the same offence again. I phoned Adrian up and said, Adrian , you sent me a letter saying it was just a £2,000 fine. He said, " Yes, but I walked over and spoke to the guy; I thought you knew about that. I said, no, I didn't. He asked if I wanted him to send me a letter, and I said, no, I actually don't!
I've known him since then. I think he's a smashing fella who has done so much in the game. Having him there is handy for anyone in the organisation because he has worked with managers and worked on signings. Having someone with that experience to fall back on is invaluable. He'll be great at that because he keeps himself grounded no matter what is happening. I think Alan Burrows did a smashing job at Aberdeen as well. Whatever people think about where the club is going, the Aberdeen board and Dave Cormack are desperate to succeed. You can tell by the money they've spent over the years that they are desperate for success. Dave isn't doing it for himself; he has enough money and has done well in life. He does it because he comes from Aberdeen and wants to see a successful Aberdeen team that fans can feel good about.
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