It didn’t end the way it was supposed to for Andy Considine at Aberdeen.
After 18 years’ service there should have been satisfaction, not sadness.
A sense of achievement, not acrimony.
But when he left Pittodrie for the last time, he barely got to say goodbye to staff he’d spent two decades with.
Considine will start a new chapter in his career at St Johnstone next week after signing a two-year deal in Perth.
He feels wanted again, something he’d become unfamiliar with during the final days at Aberdeen.
The former Scotland defender claims he wanted to stay in the Granite City until he hung up his boots.
But despite Dons boss Jim Goodwin saying a new one-year deal was on the table for Considine, the 35-year-old insists the decision to leave WASN’T his.
After battling back from a knee injury, he was given a guard of honour by team-mates and opponents for his last game against St Mirren.
Afterwards, he gave a farewell speech in the dressing-room that signalled a period of uncertainty for the defender.
Now his future is at McDiarmid Park after boss Callum Davidson snapped him up at the first opportunity.
But Considine admits leaving Aberdeen after so long was hard to take.
In an exclusive interview with Record Sport , he said: “It was an emotional time for me and my family. Aberdeen were a huge part of our lives for so many years.
“But my time was up. You want to be where you feel wanted – and at Aberdeen that wasn’t the case.
“I wasn’t needed any more. A number of people had been told to leave along with myself, even staff members.
“So I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye face to face with some of them which was hard.
“It was hard to say bye to the boys. I spoke to them after the St Mirren game in the changing room and thanked them all. It’s a great group of lads and I have played with some of them for eight or nine years.
“It was emotional but with football you move on so quickly. There was a small period of mourning because I’d been used to Aberdeen for so long.
“But to have interest from St Johnstone straight away made me feel happier going into the summer.
“My time at Aberdeen is done now. What’s important is the future for me and my family.”
Considine has revealed that Aberdeen chairman and lifelong fan Dave Cormack still hasn’t spoken to him about his Pittodrie exit.
On April 6, the club released a statement where Goodwin revealed details of a new contract offer, claiming it had been rejected because the player wanted more cash and a longer deal.
But Considine is adamant he had no option to stay.
He said: “The decision was taken out of my hands completely. It didn’t end the way I wanted it to.
“The lack of game time I had towards the end made it clear that I wasn’t in the gaffer’s plans for this season.
“So my time was up. I thought it would be in my hands but as time went on it became clear that it wasn’t. The manager told me that.
"You can be at a club, like I was for 18 years, but then a new manager comes in with his own ideas.
“Obviously, I wasn’t part of it.
“It was hard to take because I thought my days as a footballer would have finished at Aberdeen.
“I set myself and my family up to finish there. I was coaching with the youth team so I was trying to sort myself out for life after football too.
“I haven’t spoken to Dave about it all as yet.
“I want to keep playing so I’m grateful that St Johnstone want to take me on for the next two years.
“I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter in my career.”
After recovering from a cruciate injury last season, Considine played just 49 minutes of football for Goodwin after his arrival as Dons boss.
In his last game, a knock to his hip saw him go off early to rapturous applause from the Pittodrie fans.
And the club legend hopes that he will be able to return to the club on good terms. He said: “I’d have loved more game time.
“It didn’t happen for me but I got some minutes before the end which was great.
“I wanted to prove I can still do it at this level and that my knee wasn’t going to be a problem.
“I’d like to think I will always be welcomed back to Aberdeen.
“The respect the fans had for me was mutual. And there’s no bad blood on my part towards the club.
“In the future, could I ever end up at Aberdeen in some sort of capacity? Who knows."
