Why Graeme Shinnie will provide 'feel-good' Aberdeen effect, better player and Wayne Rooney influence

From a display deemed far too defensive against Celtic to an implosion at home to Rangers, from continued struggles on the road to failing to break down bottom-of-table Ross County, it has not been a happy time for Aberdeen fans who have quickly grown disillusioned as the team lost their grip on third place.

There was a desperate need for a pick-me-up going into the Pittodrie clash with St Johnstone in the Premiership. There were few ways such a feat could be achieved but the board and manager Jim Goodwin unearthed one of the ways to do so.

"I’m rapidly falling back in love with football,” tweeted Red Point of View. “What a feel-good signing that is.” The Aberdeen fan twitter account summed up the general feeling amongst the Dons support when it was announced Graeme Shinnie would be returning to the club on loan from Wigan Athletic. He is the type of player, the type of character, the type of personality to provide that galvanising effect, to provide a lift, to see an instant and noticeable lift in energy and standards. A former fan favourite and captain at Pittodrie. Wigan fans were disappointed to see exit.

“Coming back here one day was something I always had in my mind because it was a happy point in my life,” Shinnie, whose wife and kids have been living back in Inverness for the last 12 months, said. “I loved it here at the club, with the management and the fans so it was a difficult decision to leave in the first place. I wanted a fresh challenge and a fresh start, which I have had and I’m now looking forward to the challenge here again.

“I probably didn’t expect things to happen this quickly so I’m grateful for that. When I got the chance it was something I wanted."

Desperation to play and Rooney influence

Listening to him speak, you could hear the frustration of being a bit-part player at Wigan where he quickly realised he would not be part of Kolo Toure’s plan. You could also sense the desperation to get back on the Pittodrie pitch where he will set the tempo with his energy.

“I want to play more games because I didn’t feel like I was getting enough game time where I was," he said. “It’s frustrating not being able to help the team and I felt I wasn’t needed, so it’s about getting out and enjoying the football again. I’m still the same style of player I was before I left."

Graeme Shinnie has returned to Aberdeen on loan from Wigan Athletic. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Shinnie, who feels he is a better player to the one who left Aberdeen in 2019, played under Frank Lampard and Toure, but it was the experience of playing with and for Wayne Rooney which has perhaps stuck with him the most. Not only his style of play which placed demands on Shinnie to get on the ball but also his man-management.

“I played alongside him and under him, which was a surreal moment but one I really enjoyed," he said. “He was unbelievable to me, he helped me out when I needed it and was always there. He’s the kind of person you could phone up right now and he’d chat to you for an hour. I can’t speak highly enough about him.”