Aberdeen star Lewis Ferguson has admitted that he found it tough to deal with the speculation surrounding a potential move to Rangers or Watford during the summer transfer window, while speaking to the Press and Journal.
A dramatic defeat to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic on Sunday might have maintained their worst run of form in over a decade, but at least the under-fire Stephen Glass can still call on one of the finest midfielders in Scottish football as he looks to drag the Dons out of a ditch.
Ferguson was arguably their star performer against Celtic too, scoring his fifth goal of the season already.
While things are hardly going to plan in the post-Derek McInnes era, they could still be a lot worse.
The two-time Scotland international submitted a transfer request in May, at a time when Rangers were reported to be interested in the nephew of legendary Ibrox skipper Barry Ferguson.
Watford, meanwhile, submitted a £2 million bid of their own after securing a return to the Premier League (Scottish Sun).
Is Lewis Ferguson now staying at Aberdeen for the long-term?
“It was difficult. It’s hard when there’s loads of speculation going on and you don’t quite know where your future lies,” Ferguson admitted, some five months on.
“It was tough to go through that, but when I was training, when I was playing, it didn’t have any effect on me at all. I just had to come back in to training and get my head down.
“I worked hard over the summer to stay fit and come back in ready to train and play for Aberdeen. I tried to block all that out while I was training and while I was playing.”
In fairness to an Aberdeen side who have cashed in on many a star player in recent times – including Scott McKenna, Sam Cosgrove and Scott Wright – they never looked likely to back down during the Ferguson saga, dismissing his transfer request and rejecting Watford’s ‘insulting’ offer.
“It’s a hard one because obviously they (the fans) love their club,” Ferguson added, reflecting on the transfer request.
“When they see someone is possibly going to leave, they might turn their back on them. But they’ve been great and I’ve had loads of support.
“When I pull on an Aberdeen shirt, I’m going to give everything. I don’t think they should expect anything less from me.”
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