ABERDEEN midfielder Kenny McLean has already intimated that he will leave Aberdeen next summer upon the expiry of his contract, but he hopes that manager Derek McInnes hangs around in the meantime.

McLean, like McInnes, has been linked with a move to Rangers, but he hopes that his boss will still be in the Pittodrie dugout come their next home fixture on Saturday.

“I hope he is here for the next game against Motherwell,” said McLean.

“I think everybody involved in the club will be feeling the same. We can’t dictate what is going to happen there.

“There is loads of speculation but I’m sure he will come in [today] ready to go and focused on preparing the team for Saturday.

“He has done a very good job so it is no surprise other clubs are looking at him. It was the same in the summer when there was Championship clubs wanting him.

“It shows the job he has done here and hopefully that continues.”

If McLean does indeed end up swapping the red jersey for the light blue of Rangers, he got a taste of what reception may await him when he returns to the North East as he listened to Ryan Jack being booed at Pittodrie on Thursday, despite being in the dark blue of Scotland.

But McLean has been encouraged by the reaction from fans since news of his intention to leave the club was made public, and he hopes to repay their support by being completely committed every time he walks on to the field to represent Aberdeen.

“I think the fans will appreciate the fact I’m giving my all on the pitch,” he said.

“If I keep giving everything for the club, they will appreciate that.

“These things happen in football and this is just another case of that. But the fans will be happy if I work as hard as I can.”

McLean was meanwhile pleased for his Aberdeen teammate Ryan Christie to make his Scotland debut in the friendly defeat to the Netherlands, and he sees it as the first appearance of many.

“He is only 22 and winning his first cap but you wouldn’t have guessed that by the way he played,” he said.

“He is quality and he is definitely the future.”