Stephen Hughes targets top-six finish as he completes Aberdeen move

STEPHEN Hughes has set his sights on a top-six finish after completing his move to Aberdeen yesterday. The former Rangers midfielder, 29, has joined as a free agent after leaving Motherwell earlier this month, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal at Pittodrie.

He will go straight into the squad for today’s match against Dunfermline and will be going in search of the points the Dons need to climb into the top six.

“That’s the aim,” Hughes said. “That should always be the aim. It will be difficult because there’s a lot of teams doing well, but there have been a lot of good results here lately, a good result at Ibrox, and if we can get on a good run, hopefully we can kick on in the second half of the season.”

Aberdeen sit eighth in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table after a 1-1 draw with Rangers last week, one of four clubs within two points of sixth-placed Dundee United as a tough battle to make the top half gets under way. It makes for a different challenge to the one Hughes faced earlier this season with a Motherwell side sitting in third place, but Hughes still believes he has joined one of the SPL’s biggest clubs.

“When I was at Motherwell and Rangers, coming up here it was always a difficult place to come, a big club and a lot of teams raise their game when they come here,” he said. “That shows you it’s a big club.”

Although Hughes has not played since a 2 January appearance against Rangers, he has declared himself ready to go if called on by Craig Brown. “I’m available to play, but the boys had a good result last week so I don’t know what [the manager is] going to do,” he said.

Aberdeen also announced yesterday a new deal for Craig Storie. The 16-year-old Scotland Under-16 captain was reportedly also interesting Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Dunfermline midfielder Mark Kerr is unsure of the reception he will receive at Aberdeen following two years at the club. The 29-year-old returns to the Granite City for the first time with the Pars.

During his maiden campaign with the Dons, the former Dundee United and Falkirk player helped them into Europe with a fourth-place finish in 2009. Things did not go to plan the following season as he took on the captaincy, with the team knocked out of the Europa League at the first hurdle in a crushing two-legged loss to Czech side Sigma Olomouc.

Regardless of the response at Pittodrie, Kerr’s only concern is racking up points for Dunfermline. He said: “I had a great first year when I was at Aberdeen, although the second season was a bit up and down when I was the captain. I think it was noticed after I left that there were more problems than just the players who were there that year.

“But I am just glad to see that Aberdeen are starting to do all right again as, overall, I had a good time at the club. Leaving was pretty hard and the year and a half I have been away, it seems to be much the same up there. Obviously, when you go back somewhere, you hope the fans aren’t too harsh. To be honest, I don’t know what to expect. It might be a mixed reception but I can deal with that and it isn’t a problem.”