SCOT GEMMILL says he’s delighted to see his former player Scott McKenna land a move to the English Championship – and hopes others will follow the defender’s path from Under-21 international football to starring for their clubs.
Aberdeen announced they received a club-record fee for the 23-year-old earlier this week, with the Scotland internationalist moving to Gemmill’s old club Nottingham Forest.
Dons boss Derek McInnes previously admitted he was prepared to give McKenna a starting berth at Pittodrie after the centre-half impressed for the Scottish Under-21s side – something that Gemmill says is testament to the work he and his coaching staff are doing with the young Scots.
“Derek McInnes kindly spoke about how he was influenced by watching Scott play for us against Holland,” Gemmill said. “That supports what I’m saying. The top clubs are really measuring our players in our games.
“You have to factor in the level of the opposition obviously. It’s brilliant that we’ve been able to help Scott move towards the full squad and establish himself at Aberdeen. That is the objective of this team and its purpose, so it’s brilliant that we can play that part in these players’ careers.”
As for how McKenna will fare at his new club, Gemmill reckons it is vital the Scotland internationalist gets off to a strong start at the City Ground.
He said: “Whenever a player gets a move to England they have to hit the ground running. They have to prove themselves.
“So many players go down and end up coming back, but there are obviously others who go down and do really well.
“I think it’s just a case by case and club by club basis. You have to have the right manager and the right club to help these players establish themselves because there’s no doubt that it’s a good level.
“It is really important and difficult to do that, so it’s going to be really interesting to see how Scott fares.
“Forest are a fantastic club and we know their terrific history. They’ve been outside the Premier League for 20 years now and the ownership has changed.
“They will be interesting to watch, they came close to the play-offs last year and only missed out on the last day.
“But they have recruited a lot of players and it will be exciting to see what this season brings for them.
“They’ve not started that well but it’s still very early but for any player going there it’s a good opportunity to play in that league and really establish yourself.”
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