STAND THREE
Lewis wants to give Reds fans full points on stadium return
LEWIS FERGUSON has felt a bit lost without fans at Aberdeen’s games and hopes their return today will be a winner in more ways than one.
The Dons will have 300 supporters at Pittodrie for their clash with Kilmarnock, the first time a crowd has been allowed in to watch Scottish football since the coronavirus lockdown began in March.
Dons ace Ferguson is delighted some members of the Red Army will play their part in the test event aimed at paving the way for more supporters to make a safe return to matches.
The midfielder sees it as a positive step for the game and wants to take another one by helping his side welcome their fans back in style with a fifth straight Premiership victory.
But he insists he and his team-mates will not celebrate it with them if they do.
The 21-year-old said: “It won’t be what we’re used to but it’s a bit better than having no one, so I’m looking forward to it and hope it goes well.
“We’re not going to be doing anything daft or putting anyone at risk – there definitely won’t be any crowd surfing!
“We can see on social media the interest in our games and we know how many season-ticket holders and fans are watching and cheering us on.
“But it’s obviously not the same as what we’d been used to.
“It’s something we’ve had to deal with. Knowing that the fans are watching the games is in the back of our minds and the sooner we get everyone back, the better.
“But it doesn’t matter if there are fans or not – it’s the same three points at stake.
“Hopefully we can get them for the fans who are there and it is just a matter of time before we can get more in.”
Ferguson plus Dons pals Ross McCrorie and Connor McLennan helped Scotland Under-21s to a vital Euro 2021 qualifying win over Lithuania on Tuesday.
Following the low of eight team-mates breaking coronavirus bubble regulations, he is eager to keep the newly-found feel-good factor going and boost morale even further ahead of Thursday’s trip to take on Viking Stavanger in the Europa League.
Ferguson said: “We didn’t have the best start to the season with everything that went on but we managed to go on a nice wee run before the international break.
“We also got through in Europe, so a lot is going well at the minute and we need to back those performances up with another run of games.
“It has been good. I have played well and we are winning games, so I am happy. I want to continue that and back up that start I’ve had.
“I want to keep performing and keep winning.”
Derek McInnes’ men will again be missing crocked strikers Sam Cosgrove and Ryan Edmondson as well as defender Mikey Devlin for Killie’s visit.
But after already matching last season’s tally of three, Ferguson hopes to stay on the goals trail so they won’t be missed too much.
He said: “I wanted to improve from last season because I didn’t score as many as I would have liked but I have not set myself any targets. “I just want to show good form and if I get on the goal sheet, that is an added bonus. “I just want to keep performing and I want the team to keep putting in winning performances that will put us in as high a place as possible in the table. “Then we will see how far we can go in Europe.”