Aberdeen's Graeme Shinnie is determined to make the most of his first international call-up for Scotland. He was selected for the national side this week by Gordon Strachan for the final EURO2016 qualifier games against Poland at Hampden and Gibraltar in Faro. Shinnie captained Inverness to their first ever Scottish Cup win in May before moving to Pittodrie where, playing either left-back or midfield, he has helped Derek McInnes' side reach the top of the Premiership. Ahead the meeting with St Johnstone at Pittodrie on Saturday, the former Scotland Under-21 player said he was "absolutely delighted" to be drafted into the senior squad following talk of recognition reaching back to his days with Inverness.
He said: "There has been a lot of talk and questions put to me about it in the last year and now it is eventually here it is a proud moment for myself and I am really looking forward to it. I was still young and learning the game (at Inverness) and I still am. Maybe Gordon thinks now is the right time for me. He is the one that will make the right decision so maybe now is the right time for me and it will be up to me to go and enjoy it. I don't mind playing wherever the manager at Aberdeen feels that he needs me and where I will perform at my best so yes, I can take that into Scotland as well. I am enjoying my football now, no matter if it is centre midfield or left-back. It has been a good start to my career at Aberdeen and long may that continue."
Aberdeen lost their first league game of the season last week at Inverness after eight successive wins in the competition but still lead Celtic by four points. Shinnie put the 2-1 defeat against his old club into perspective and is looking for the Dons to bounce back against Saints. He said: "We are still as high as we were. We lost a game at Inverness which was disappointing, especially in the first half with the way we played. But with the start we have had and where we are now, the morale is still really high. We are still really confident and the boys are really looking forward to the game and looking to put things right. We are still top of the table and training has been great, everyone is still positive so it's about getting back on the winning trail. When I was at Inverness, especially, St Johnstone were always a tough team to play against, good spirit and hard-working. We know what to expect from them so I guess it is up to us to do our work on the training patch and take it into the game."
St Johnstone midfielder Liam Craig knows today's hosts will be hurting after defeats to Hibs and Inverness on the road. And now the former Falkirk and Hibs player is hoping the Perth club can upset the table-topping Dons on their home turf. Saints head to the Granite City bolstered by wins over Rangers in the Scottish League Cup and then Dundee United in the Tayside derby, despite losing keeper Alan Mannus to a red card. But Craig insists the Premiership leaders, under former Perth management duo McInnes and Tony Docherty, are dangerous foes on the back of their consecutive defeats.
He said: "They have got off to an incredible start. To be top of the league with just one defeat after nine games is superb. They have lost to Hibs in the League Cup and at Inverness last weekend. Working under Derek and 'Doc' I know they won't fancy suffering three defeats in a row so we can expect it to be tough, especially up at Pittodrie. They will have their boys right at it. Aberdeen will have a big backing and want to get back to winning ways. But we are coming off the back of two really good wins so it is a game we are looking forward to. If we are going to get anything from this game we know we will have to be at our best, and produce a performance like the last two. To go to Rangers and win as convincingly as we did was really encouraging and we followed it up against United in difficult circumstances, going down to 10 men early in the contest. We have a lot to look forward to, including the League Cup quarter final at Morton. But right now it is all about Aberdeen. We have a great group of players and we work hard for each other. Simon Lappin came on and scored the winner in the derby, which shows the strength in depth we have in the squad. And if we are going to be successful it will again take a squad effort."