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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Aberdeen star Ross McCrorie responds to £2m Bristol City transfer link

Ross McCrorie has insisted he is loving life at Aberdeen as he downplayed transfer links to Bristol City.

The Pittodrie defender, 25, is reportedly a £2million transfer target for the English Championship side in the summer.

However, McCrorie rebuffed any suggestion he could leave the northeast at the end of the season to head down south.

"I am just focusing on Aberdeen right now," he said when pressed on links with the English Championship side. "I still have three years left on my contract at Aberdeen. I just signed a new one last year and days like Sunday are terrific. I really enjoyed it. 

"I don't really take too much notice or interest in that.

"I think that if we are doing well at Aberdeen we have plenty of boys attracting interest and it just goes to show you how well we are doing this season."

The Robins currently sit 14th in England's second tier, but McCrorie refused to be drawn on the prospect of trading Pittodrie for Ashton Gate.

"I am not talking about me leaving," he said when quizzed on Bristol City presenting an attractive option.

"I am an Aberdeen player and I am proud to be an Aberdeen player, it's days like today it is a real honour, especially when I got to captain the side, we have the man [Graeme] Shinnie back in a couple of days as well. 

"When I look at this team, it is excellent, the best team I have had at Aberdeen and I am enjoying every minute, I am loving it here."

McCrorie - who took the armband in the win over Rangers - has been a key fixture under Barry Robson and reckons the interim boss should be given the role on a permanent basis.

Robson will continue in the dugout until the end of the season and could be in contention for the role full-time should the upturn in form continue.

Aberdeen have won seven on the bounce, with Robson boasting eight wins from his first ten matches at the helm.

"If I was the chairman I would just give him the job to be honest," said McCrorie of Robson's position as manager.

"Since he has been in - that's up to the chairman - I obviously knew him for a couple of years when I first came up here under McInnes, since he came in he has been a breath of fresh air.

"He has tweaked a few things within the system, he has made us more aggressive, we have been doing different things, wee combinations and it is really paying off and it shows us a different aspect to the game at times.

"Physically we are in a different world now, we are really bang at it."

Robson has united the Aberdeen squad and developed a stirring connection between the support and players, something McCrorie reckons has been vital.

Asked if the atmosphere against Rangers was the best he had experienced at Pittodrie, he said: "I would say so. It was a sell-out and you could see the fans were behind us.

"Every time we were attacking the fans were roaring us on, even in the later stages they were roaring us on and showed in the team, it spurred us on at the end.

"It gives you that extra 10 percent physically, even as a team, since the gaffer came in we have gone up a notch.

"If teams want to battle we will match them in a battle. If they want to go physically we can match teams physically or even over-power them at times.

"So credit to the gaffer since he came in, he has been terrific."

But there was less support for McCrorie from the travelling end where fans of his former club were housed.

McCrorie added: "Yes, I got some stick to be fair in the corner at times but Aberdeen is my club just now, I am an Aberdeen player and I do anything to win for the team. We got the three points today and it was good to get one over them.

"I felt we owed them one at one point this season and today we got the three points."

Robby McCrorie featured on the bench for Rangers, and McCrorie admitted it was nice to catch up with former team-mates.

He said: "I spoke to him already. He is disappointed but I will probably give him a phone call tomorrow. I know a few boys obviously, the team has not changed over the years so it was good to see some old faces."

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