Scotland defender Scott McKenna will never forget what Derek McInnes did for him at Aberdeen

Scott McKenna has a host of reasons to be grateful to the man who held the Aberdeen hot seat before Stephen Glass. But one in particular leaps quickly to his lips.

In 2015, the Scotland and Nottingham Forest defender was just 18 years old and a Dons prospect out on loan at Ayr on the orders of Derek McInnes.

Then, what should have been a routine scan detected a problem – he had an enlarged heart.

Straight away, he was told to forget not just about playing, but even training for a minimum of three months.

“People probably don’t realise all the things Derek McInnes does for his players,” said the Scot recalling his scare.

“When I was out with my heart I couldn’t do anything, but he took me to all the European games so I could still feel part of things.

“The 3-0 win away to Rijeka (of Croatia) was one of Aberdeen’s best nights of recent times, and I was there.

“Right from the get-go he looked after me. He became manager five or six games before the end of the season, I went full-time that summer, and straight away he had me in with the first team.

“But while he got me involved he never put me in the team too early, when I probably would have failed.

“Instead, he put me out on loan, allowed me to develop and make mistakes away from the club.

“By doing that it meant when I did finally go into the Aberdeen team, it was all plain sailing and I never came back out. That was all down to his timing.

“Overall I would have to say he was a massive influence on my career. I had such a good time there playing under him.

“I played in a Cup Final (the 2018 League Cup Final which Aberdeen lost to Celtic) and had some great nights. Going toe-to-toe with Burnley at their ground was an unbelievable experience.

“And then there was probably my favourite moment in an Aberdeen shirt, scoring the winner at Ibrox that year, just because of the rivalry with Rangers and how well we did against them.

“I actually texted to say Derek had probably forgotten just how many big moments there were in his time there until I saw all the clips coming out on social media in the days after he left.

“I am just grateful that he gave me the chance to be part of it.

“I think we have already seen the same people who were calling for me to go have been back on thanking him.

“It is just the way football is, fans want something and then as soon as it changes they want another thing.

“Were there times when I was annoyed with him? 100% – I think that is the same with every player and manager.

“I probably annoyed him at times but I would like to think over the period we had a good relationship and a strong relationship.

“I would still text him now if I ever need anything.”

© Alan Harvey / SNS Group

Aberdeen have now moved on with the appointment of Glass and McKenna is sure McInnes will do likewise.

“I don’t think Derek is going to have any problems getting another job, not after the success he has had these past eight years at Aberdeen,” said McKenna.

“It must be hard when you are in the same place so long, setting high standards, but keep losing players.

“This season you had myself, Sam Cosgrove and Scott Wright. Going further back, you had the likes of Graeme Shinnie and Kenny McLean going.

“These are massive players Derek has had to try to replace, year-on-year – a constant rebuilding process. It is difficult but he always did a great job with what he had.

“In terms of this season, the team got off to a great start to the season and then hit a sticky patch around about Christmas and carried on in the same vein.

“Ultimately fans just want what is best for their club in that present moment but sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

“You can’t judge whether the changes were the right thing to do just now, it will only be in the course of the next couple of seasons that becomes apparent but there is no doubting the job Derek McInnes did at Aberdeen.

“It is also fair to say that we are talking about one of the best jobs in Scotland for a manager to land.”

© Matt Bunn/BPI/Shutterstock

As McKenna says, Aberdeen are high-profile which helps its players when it comes to being noticed by the national team.

Having broken through to the first team as a teenager, he was propelled into Scotland reckoning.

In the summer of 2018, off the back of a highly-successful campaign with his club and against a backdrop of international call-offs from others, he captained his country against Mexico in the Azteca Stadium at the age of just 21!

“That was amazing and completely unexpected as I had not even been in the squad before,” said McKenna.

“To be given the armband at the Azteca was a massive honour for me and it was a great trip.

“Obviously quite a few of the bigger players were coming off the back of long seasons so there were quite a few of the Under-21s who got to go.

“Again, it was down to Derek McInnes that I got that platform.”

A platform that helped land him his £3-million move to Nottingham Forest last September.

“I was out for a couple of months with an ankle injury but I am back fit and in the team now and really enjoying my football,” he said.

“While at the moment there are a few teams below us (Forest are 17th), a couple of them have games in hand, so we have got to be careful we don’t get dragged back into it.

“I think two or three wins from the last eight should be enough.

“We are playing well in games so I am confident but, as I say, you can easily lose here without doing anything wrong.”