Ross McCrorie feels indebted to Aberdeen and Barry Robson and so when he left he made sure they weren’t going to be short-changed.
The Scotland squad player sealed his big-money move to Bristol City this summer in a deal that could net the Dons more than £2million – and could go substantially higher with future add-ons. It was always McCrorie’s plan to go to Aberdeen for two or three years and then make that next move, which he did last month when he sealed his move to the English Championship.
McCrorie revealed that he signed a new deal at Pittodrie last year because he wanted to make sure the club was protected on the transfer front. The 25-year-old said: “It was always the plan to go and play for Aberdeen for two or three years and then to kick on again. When I signed and initially spoke to Steven Gunn and Derek McInnes, that was always the plan. That was one of the reasons why I signed a new contract at Aberdeen last year.
“If I hadn’t then I would have been going into the final year of my contract this season. “My agent Nicholas Nicholson advised me to sign a new deal because he knew Aberdeen was the right club for me at that time and was a place where I could really kick on. “Looking back it was good advice and the right thing to do.
"If I hadn’t then I would have been going into the final year of my contract this season. There was an agreement that if I signed the deal and an offer came in that was acceptable and I wanted to go, then the club wouldn’t stand in my way. Steven Gunn, the director of football, was brilliant throughout.
“Signing a new contract also gave Aberdeen some more protection in the length of my contract and when it came to negotiating a fee. When Bristol City came in, Steven and the chairman Dave Cormack were brilliant with the way they handled things.
“I even took a call from Dave the night before my medical, thanking me for everything and he said I will always be welcome back at Aberdeen. I really appreciated that, it showed a bit of class and just summed up everything about the club.”
The Scotland squad member insisted it wasn’t an easy decision to leave the Dons and it left him with a tear in his eye. He believes there is a real bond in the Pittodrie dressing room, which has a team that are guaranteed European football until Christmas and are going places under Robson.
“It was a difficult decision to leave Aberdeen,” McCrorie added. “I had been there three years and I knew all the boys. It is probably the best dressing room I have been involved in.
“We were more like best pals than team-mates because we were all the same age and we all got on so well. When I left after the final game against Celtic I have to admit I had a tear in my eye.
"I actually wasn’t too bad until I saw Jonny Hayes and he gave me a hug at the end then that is when it really got to me. He was one of the boys since the day I arrived at Aberdeen and like with so many of the lads we were really close.”
McCrorie believes that unity was a major factor in Aberdeen getting through the mid-season wobble, where they slumped into the bottom six and lost in the Scottish Cup to Darvel. New boss Robson came in and helped them pull off what had looked like the impossible in sealing third spot.
The former vice-captain said: “If we weren’t as tight-knit as a group then I don’t think we would have got through that bad patch like we did. That week was the worst in the club’s history. We all spoke about it, cleared the air and then turned things around and we did our talking on the pitch.”
Aberdeen put together a long unbeaten run and eventually sealed third place with a home win against St Mirren. McCrorie had been out after hernia surgery but rushed back to help his side get over the line.
He said: “The manager was keen for me to play and I knew it was a big game against St Mirren that, if we had won, would have gone a long way to sealing third. I wanted to play my part and be out with the boys on the pitch and for the manager, Steven Agnew and the club because that is the respect I have for everybody at Aberdeen.”
The Dons got the win, inspired by captain Graeme Shinnie, and it sparked a huge Pittodrie party. For McCrorie, it was the pinnacle of his time at the club. He added: “The biggest highlight for me was last season and finishing third, especially if you look at where we had come from, it was some turnaround.
“We had that 12-game unbeaten run and managed to finish third and guarantee European group stage football. The night we beat St Mirren to seal third place was amazing and will live with me forever.”
READ NEXT
