 Craig Brown believes Aberdeen will be difficult to beat in his first game in charge at Hibs on Boxing Day, with his squad set to be boosted by the signing of David McNamee. The Dons sit bottom of the SPL ahead of the Boxing Day fixture at Easter Road, a game which will see Brown and his assistant Archie Knox take full control for the first time since joining from Motherwell earlier this month. The pair could not keep out of the dug out the first time they watched them, against Hearts, as managers-in-waiting. McNamee arrived in Aberdeen on Thursday and could be found a seat on the bench, with the Scotland international full-back, a free agent after leaving Plymouth, set to sign a deal today. Speaking on Thursday, Brown said: "He'll join us for our session tomorrow but we'll not be in a position to start with him on Sunday. I think the best we can say right now is part of the squad. He's a top-quality player. He's an accomplished player and he was picked for the national team on four occasions. To have got into the international reckoning and into the team tells you that he's got good capability. He'll be a good acquisition for this club, certainly until the end of the season. Let's hope he lives up to our expectations." Brown and Knox watched from the stands in agony as the Dons lost 5-0 at Tynecastle on 11 December and were thwarted by the weather as last week's match against Motherwell was called off. However, the former Scotland manager believes the enforced lay-off has given him an opportunity to assess and work with his squad and feels they are much improved. Brownsaid: "We're champing at the bit to get into action. It's given us a lot more time to meet the guys and get to know them. There's a noticeable difference, without doubt, from the first couple of sessions to now. They're getting to know our methods and even in a simple thing like possession, I see a lot better work with the ball and confidence on the ball. There's no doubt there's a great attitude, a great application to their work. If they carry that work ethic into the match we'll be very difficult to beat." Brown hopes to get the best out of each and every player. He added: "What we've got to do is to try to get every player playing to his maximum. I think some were falling short of that. There's an apparent improvement in our opinion from what we've seen in previous games. We're optimistic guys and I never put a team on the pitch thinking we're going to lose or we're not going to win. It's very apparent that over the whole place there is a bit of a depression because of the league position. We intend to rectify that. When you get a number of games in quick succession it's a wonderful chance. In this league two or three wins is a transformation, both in the confidence of the club and in the league position. That's the objective." After the game at Easter Road, the Dons meet Hamilton before beginning the new year against Dundee United. But Brown is not looking beyond the trip to Edinburgh, with victory for Hibs taking them eight points above the Dons in the table. Brown said: "It's a vital game. We can't afford to go down there and let them open up an advantage against us. I think the league is distorted a bit. The wrong teams are at the wrong end of the league at the moment. I hope that Aberdeen's one of them and Hibs is another. Hibs are in a false position in relation to the size of the club and the ability of the players. We firmly believe Aberdeen shouldn't be where we are. Hibs should be in the top six, Aberdeen should be in the top six. That's the job both for Colin Calderwood and for me." |
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