Source: FOOTYMAD
Learn Your Lesson Well
The World Cup is the best training manual - if you make best use of your leisure time. Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee has urged Chris Maguire to make best use of his World Cup watching hours and learn a few lessons from Spain star David Villa as he bids to secure a first-team place next season. Maguirer was farmed out on loan to Kilmarnock in January in a bid to secure regular football. He has now reported back for pre-season training with the rest of the Dons squad and McGhee revealed how he advised the young forward to use the World Cup this summer as inspiration for his own career. He said: "I asked him if he had been watching the lad Villa and he said he had. I said to him that he works hard, he runs around, and Chris said to me that was exactly the same thing his dad had said to him. When he plays and he runs at players and he's full of energy and works hard, he could be a really good player for us. I'm hoping the combination of his experience last year at Kilmarnock and watching these games that are on at the World Cup at the moment and watching these sorts of players will encourage him to take a more industrious attitude towards his game." While Maguire has been welcomed back to Pittodrie, Aberdeen have had to say goodbye to Charlie Mulgrew, who last week returned to Celtic. McGhee is not surprised Mulgrew has been given a second chance at the club where he progressed through the youth ranks but believes he still has some way to go before fulfilling his potential. He said: "He can play at left-back, he has a great left foot, he can get up and down and has great delivery but I think he is a bit luxurious in his left-back role. I think he could be a proper centre-half. He's got a great size, he's a good athlete and he's also a footballer. He's still got improvement to come, to convince me, for instance, that he's a Champions League centre-half in a successful Celtic team but I think he has the potential to do it. So, no, I'm not surprised that they have taken him back but they are going to have to work with him and Charlie is going to have to keep working to improve the way he did on certain aspects of his play last year." McGhee has taken midfielder Conor Okus and goalkeeper Ryan Jones on trial but his search for more experienced players to bolster his squad continues. He said: "We are trying our hardest to bring in people who are going to improve the team and improve the squad. We've got six weeks to find the players that we want. Over the summer, it's never stopped for me. I've constantly been on the phone, I've constantly been having meetings, but players have been slow to commit, agents have been reluctant to allow their players to commit because they somehow think there is going to be something better around the corner. It will all come to a head eventually and certainly as we get closer to the start of the season. We've just got to be patient, sit tight and make sure that we keep our powder dry." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net
