Russell Anderson has eye on long game at Aberdeen

Russell Anderson, right, is pleased Aberdeen recognised his experience with new deal. Picture: Robert Perry

The Dons captain made it clear on his return to Pittodrie in January 2012 that no-one would need to tell him his time was up.

The worry was that a series of serious injuries when playing in England would prevent the defender making an impact at Aberdeen second time around.

Those fears have been unfounded as he recently made his 400th appearance overall for the club, moving up to sixth place in the club’s all-time list.

Best of all for Anderson, he became the first Aberdeen captain since Stewart McKimmie 19 years ago to lift a trophy when they won the League Cup in March.

Now, the 35-year old is looking forward to leading Derek McInnes’ team into Europe next season and any thought of retirement has been put on hold.

Anderson said: “It’s great to be offered another year, especially off the back of such a good and enjoyable season.

“It’s not something I had to think long about as we spoke about it a lot a while ago but, with the amount of games we had, the manager has been busy with one thing or another.

“That meant it was put on the back burner to be honest but, when we spoke about it, it didn’t take any time as it was just a case of: ‘Yeah, I’ll sign’.

“It’s a good place to come in at any time but, when we are winning as often as we have been and being successful most of the campaign, it was an easy decision to make.

“You are a long time retired, so, hopefully, I will be able to play on next season and see where we go after that. The focus is just to go and have a good holiday and come back ready to go again for the new season.

“It was good playing alongside Mark Reynolds, who had an exceptional season, and it helped that we had a pretty settled back four for most of it.

“There has been a lot of progress on a lot of fronts at Aberdeen and, hopefully, that will carry on next season.”

Anderson is also delighted to see that fellow veteran Barry Robson signed a one-year extension to his contract yesterday.

The former Dundee United midfielder missed the first two months of the season after a knee operation but still made 38 appearances for the Dons.

Robson celebrates his 36th birthday later this year, but Anderson knows someone with his experience will be vital in maintaining the standards set since McInnes took charge in March 2013.

Anderson added: “Barry is a winner who has played consistently well and there were a few games where his winning mentality really shone through.

“When we played Dundee United at Pittodrie he was head and shoulders above everybody and really dragged us through that game to get us a point.

“It’s nice that he will be back, as his experience, winning mentality and professionalism are good for the younger players around him as well.” Midfielder Nicky Low, 22, has agreed a one-year deal, and McInnes hopes to sign Shay Logan when the Brentford defender’s deal with the London club finishes at the end of May.

Striker Scott Vernon, goalkeeper Nicky Weaver and utility player Josh Magennis have all been released.

Under-20s coach Neil Cooper has been sacked after a string of poor results, ending his third spell at the club.