Declan Gallagher is ready to walk in the footsteps of giants after being handed the number five shirt at Aberdeen.
The summer signing from Motherwell is well aware of the jersey’s significance given the success Alex McLeish brought to the club in his 692 appearances for the Pittodrie club.
McLeish was half of one of Scottish football’s greatest ever defensive partnerships alongside Willie Miller and lifted three Premier League titles, five Scottish Cups, two League Cups and the jewel in the crown the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup as the Dons enjoyed a golden era under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Gallagher is adamant the weight of history won’t slow him down though as he targets a new wave of success in the north east under Stephen Glass.
The 30-year-old had interest south of the border with Cardiff City among a number of clubs keen on the centre half.
But he is convinced Aberdeen is the right move. Now, having linked up with his new team mates after returning from international duty at the Euros he has been handed the squad number vacated by Scott McKenna last season.
And while he admits disappointment at failing to get a single minute of action after playing a key role in securing Scotland’s return to the big stage, Gallagher is focused on proving he can fill the shirt at Aberdeen.
He said: “Number five is my squad number.
“I was 31 at Motherwell but I had a chat with the manager here and he thought it would make a little bit of a statement a centre-half coming in and wearing number five.
“There’s been some great players here in the past who have worn number five. Alex McLeish wore it so it’s great respect from the manager to give me it.
“Hopefully I can do it justice.
“The fans have seen players like Miller and McLeish and hopefully I can bring great success like they did to the club.
“Getting that number five strip means the world to me, it’s clearly a special number for the club.
“I want to make my own mark wearing it so hopefully I can do that by playing well for the club.
“I’ve known all along how big a club Aberdeen is and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here.
“I had other options but at the end of the day, this is a massive club and obviously I’m delighted to be here. I just want to bring success.”
Gallagher was a rock in defence when he wore number five for Scotland in November’s nerve-shredding play-off in Serbia that ended a 23-year wait for a major finals.
He’s won eight caps under Clarke but none of those came at the summer showpiece.
But the former Fir Park skipper dismissed suggestions his status as a Motherwell player went against him, arguing: “Stephen O’Donnell played all three games and he’s a Motherwell player. The manager has shown he doesn’t care who you play for. At the time I was a bit stop-start at Motherwell with injuries – maybe that was something that was going through the manager’s head.
“At the end of the day, there was a lot of good players there and these things happen. I rate myself highly enough to compete with these players and I’ll be looking to do that come September.
“It was obviously a good experience and one that I’ll treasure forever.
“But personally, it was a bit disappointing because I never got any game time.
“My record with Scotland isn’t bad but at the end of the day, that’s international football.
“There’s quality players everywhere and there were players who play in the English Premier League who I was up against.
“It’s hard for the manager. I was there trying to give him a headache but at the end of the day, he went with what he did and I respect his decisions.
“When you look at the backline, you had a guy who was playing for Arsenal, a guy who was captain of Norwich, captain of Leeds and someone who one player of the year in Belgium. The standard was really high.
“It just makes me hungrier to get into the squads.
“I might not have played at the Euros but there’s the World Cup qualifiers in September and I’m going to have to play well here to be in that squad.”
That starts with Aberdeen’s season curtain raiser against Swedes BK Hacken in the Europa Conference League second qualifying round clash at Pittodrie next Thursday.
The Dons are hopeful of having close to 6000 fans inside Pittodrie after meeting with local authority officials.
And Gallagher said: “It will be a massive boost.
“Seeing the fans being back at Euros and at Wembley, fans mean everything in football.
“It is a spectator sport and when fans are not there it just isn’t the same.
“The club have been working hard to try and make something happen with the fans.
“We want the fans back as quick as possible but that is down to people higher up than me deciding.”
