Mair ready to sign deal at Aberdeen FC, but Smith may go
Toronto trailing winger
Published:
ABERDEEN FC defender Lee Mair has provided a boost ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Rangers by revealing he is set to sign a new deal.
But injury-jinxed winger Jamie Smith appears to be on his way out of Pittodrie after being linked with a move to Canadian side Toronto.
Mair said: “I want to stay at Aberdeen FC and the ideal scenario would be to sign a new deal and play in Europe next season.
“The club have said they will come back to me with a deal when they know what position they finish in the SPL.
“Obviously the higher up the table the more money they will get from the league, so that would affect the deal.
“But I want to stay here, so hopefully that can be resolved next week.”
Smith, however, looks certain to move and is understood to have already opened talks with MLS side Toronto, who are managed by former Scotland striker Mo Johnston.
Smith is out for the rest of the season because of a hamstring injury.
A scan has revealed the injury isn’t as bad as first feared, but it has lessened the chances of him being kept on by Aberdeen.
Reports today claim the 28-year-old has already decided to jet out for talks with Johnston at the end of the season.
When asked to comment via the club today, Smith refused to rule out moving to Toronto but said he won’t make a final decision until the end of the season.
When we asked Dons boss Jimmy Calderwood for the latest on Smith’s contract situation, he replied: “Nothing is decided yet.
“If it was a footballing decision alone I would have sorted all of that stuff out already.
“But you also have to look at it from the board’s point of view.
“They are the ones who have to agree to release enough money to persuade a top player of Jamie’s standard to stay.
“But they might not want to if they think he could only play in 50% of our games. It’s a terrible situation, especially when you consider Jamie actually got the injuries trying to do his best for us.”
The Dons are tracking centre-back Colin Coates, who plays for Irish club Crusaders. Calderwood watched him play in the Irish Cup final at Windsor Park last weekend.
Readers' Comments
Aaaaarrgh! How on earth did Mair manage to remain signed on for the Dons after Tuesday night's performance against Hearts? He was utter pants the whole match!
Winston Ngomo
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Overall I think he's deserved a new deal, definitely a decent defender, less mistakes than Considine?
Kevin Watt
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Ivan Campo has been released by Ipswich... Get him signed Jimmy!
Michael Nisbet
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How can you say you will sign a deal when you don't know what the deal is? Having said that, Mair, in my opinion, hasn't done anything wrong this season and probably deserves a new contract.
John (Cove)
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CAMPO???? No ex-Scumdrid player please! Good that Mair's staying, better than Andy C, that's for sure.
Scott Aberdeen
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Winston - were you at the game on Tuesday? Mair was so pants Hearts scored the grand total of zero goals. Mair and Considine very good cover for Diamond and a new experienced centre half. Both dons fans as well so get off their backs.
Keith Middleton
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Well Said Keith!! - Mair did nothing wrong on tuesday - clean sheet says it all!! What more do you want from your defence. Well Done Lee on waiting for the new deal when he could easily have signed one elsewhere. This is the sort of player commitment we are looking for!! Severin are you listening!!
Ewan Robertson
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Hey, easy boys, I was just meaning that Mair is pretty solid now, while Considine does make a few mistakes, same as Zander did a few years back. Hoi Punzano, stop with the anti-Madridness ;-) anyone who signs and plays for Aberdeen gets supported (unless it was Joey Barton)
Kevin Watt
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Tavish - What an extremely sad opinion to have. Do you really think Jamie Smith chose to have all the injuries he has? I blame the club as much as Jamie himself. Aston Villa just had there Defender Martin Laursen retiring today - do you see there fans slagging him off and calling him a waste of money!!
Ewan Robertson
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I'm pleased for Mair - he got a bit of a slagging when he first joined us but he has actually been quite solid and is a very useful player. As for Smith, his time is up and I'm not sorry to see him go - his injury issues are chronic and he can't be relied on anymore.
Tom (Edinburgh)
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Oi, Hedgie, shut yer cake hole! Campo's too old, but I hear Raul is looking for a new challenge! ;-)
Scott Aberdeen
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I'd rather have Mair than some useless Belgian injury prone, played 3 games for Feyenoord 6 years ago no hoper.
Brian Henderson
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