WHEN a new manager comes in to a club, he knows he basically has to work with the previous gaffer's tools, and he will be judged on how much more (or less) he can make with them.
It was no different for Mark McGhee when he arrived at Pittodrie, and with no pots of Premiership cash available to him, it was hard to see how the new Dons boss could stamp his personality on the team.
He has, and he has done so by utilising the first fruit of the revolutionised AFC youth set-up, headed up by Willie Miller and Len Taylor.
Jimmy Calderwood never gave youth much of a chance, apart from, curiously, during the last month before he was sacked. He would much rather spend small amounts of cash on 'good pros' and 'tried and tested SPL players', meaning the likes of Gary Dempsey, Derek Young, Richie Byrne, Danny Griffin and Neil McFarlane, amongst others, spent short spells at the Dons while the club's youngsters stayed in the reserves until they moved to Peterhead.
He may point to Foster, Considine and Maguire as three he brought through, but none were 'trusted' - the latter pair were in and out of the team as teenagers and Foster was used to fill gaps all over the pitch, arguably stunting his progression.
The signs are that McGhee is doing things differently. After mistakenly playing the 'old guard' against Sigma, he quickly decided the way forward is to give the young players responsibility, and he is now not afraid to play three youngsters in the all-important midfield area at intimidating arenas like Ibrox.
And the result is that after six SPL games, and despite signing only three players in summer (two of whom are merely back-up for the first team), the team that controlled the game for 50 minutes at Ibrox already looks like it is McGhee's and not Calderwood's, with Fraser Fyvie, Peter Pawlett and Michael Paton at the heart of it, and Jonathan Crawford, Mitch Megginson and possibly others knocking at the door.
After yesterday's game, McGhee said: "For the first time since I arrived we've got something to build on. I hoped all our players would come away from here saying that they enjoyed themselves and that's the case. The young players, in particular, handled the big stage brilliantly."
He's right. But it's not just the kids' ability to handle the big stage that is good for Aberdeen FC. It is difficult for new supporters to relate to players who stay and do a job for six months then leave. Who is going to buy a shirt with 'Griffin' on the back when he will be released at the end of his short contract?
However, I imagine plenty of Aberdonian schoolkids will be heading down to the club shop to get their Paton, Pawlett or Fyvie shirts in the coming months, and these stars-in-the-making could be at the club for the long haul - take note Pittodrie boardroom.
Sure, there will be slip-ups like at Dens, but the way that McGhee has chosen to run the team is not a quick fix and it will take time. But with exciting kids in the team rather than journeymen, the fans will give them the time required to get it right.
