McInnes Delighted For Captain Anderson

Anderson, 35, was on the books as a youngster when Aberdeen beat Dundee 2-0 in the League Cup final in 1995 and played in two losing finals for the club in 2000 - one in the League Cup and one in the Scottish Cup - before he left for Sunderland in a £1million deal in 2007.

The defender had loan spells at Plymouth and Burnley before moving on to Derby in 2010 where again he was hampered by injuries before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in December the following year.

Anderson, capped 11 times for Scotland, returned to Pittodrie to continue his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury and was handed a contract by then manager Craig Brown in January 2012 and reinstated as captain, a move that was vindicated when he lifted the trophy at Parkhead.

Dons boss McInnes was glad that a player so closely associated with the Pittodrie club stepped out of the shadows of previous skippers.

He said: "I said to Russell that he could possibly come into the bracket of players who have endured being at Aberdeen and being a local boy he would have taken that on himself.

"Growing up as a kid he saw Willie Miller and Stewart McKimmie lift trophies and I felt it was his time. People will now look at him differently for the rest of his life.

"He is an Aberdeen captain who lifted a trophy. It was such a pivotal moment and he deserves that tag as being a successful captain."

Source : PA

Source: PA