FOOTBALL
MCGHEE: MAGUIRE WILL RETURN A BETTER PLAYER
Mark McGhee reckons Chris Maguire will return a better player
By Scott Burns
MARK McGhee doesn't reckon Chris Maguire would have got anywhere near the young player of the month award if he had still been at Aberdeen.
The Dons manager has taken it in the neck for letting the Scotland under-21 striker, who has scored three goals in six games, join his former boss Jimmy Calderwood on-loan for the rest of the season at Kilmarnock.
McGhee insisted he only agreed to sanction the move because Maguire and his agent had been adamant the player wanted to go out on loan and he needed to free up wages to finance the deals for Steven MacLean and Jim Paterson.
"The move to Kilmarnock certainly seems to have boosted his confidence,’’McGhee admitted.He has done really well and hopefully he can keep it going for the rest of the season.
"Chris is now showing people what he can do and hopefully when he comes back to Aberdeen he can continue to show that in a red shirt next season.There is no questioning Chris's ability but for whatever reason he didn't look the same player before we let him go to Kilmarnock.
"His agent was also constantly on to Willie (Miller) before Christmas and then during the transfer telling us that Chris wanted to go out on loan here, there and everywhere. Initially we said no but that changed when there was a possibility on transfer deadline day that we could get Steven MacLean and Jim Paterson.
"We were able to use Lee Miller's wage but I also had to free up money from elsewhere to secure the deal and that was when I reluctantly agreed to let Chris go to Kilmarnock."
The Dons boss is adamant that there is very little chance of the 21-year-old leaving Pittodrie on a permanent basis adding : ‘’As I have said I rate Chris very highly and he is a player we have high hopes for."The better he does for Kilmarnock the better it is for Chris and Aberdeen."
Aberdeen boss McGhee and his Pittodrie staff, Scott Leitch and director of football Willie Miller will all be hitting the road on spying trips this weekend.
