The friendship Scott McKenna and Mikey Devlin have off the pitch will help them forge a strong centre-back partnership for the upcoming season.
They share a flat and are good friends so that bond when playing together at centre-back will be a real positive.
I had it with Alex McLeish during our time at Aberdeen.
We got on very well and had a special bond as a partnership.
The relationship between myself and Alex was built over many seasons as we had 15 years playing together.
Devlin and McKenna are in the early stages of their partnership but the good news is that it is going well.
There is still that opportunity and time to build that partnership even stronger which is brought through playing games and practice on the training park.
That centre-back partnership is such a crucial area as you are the last line of defence before the goalkeeper.
Centre-backs rely on one another and there needs to be that element of trust which is why it certainly helps to be friends away from the club.
The more you play together the stronger that relationship becomes.
It is fantastic to see Devlin back to full fitness after more than a year out with a cruciate ligament injury.
Devlin signed on at Aberdeen from Hamilton when still undergoing rehabilitation for that knee injury.
Eventually, he made his debut at the heart of the Dons defence, more than six months after signing, in the 1-0 friendly win over Cobh Ramblers in Ireland.
When you are out for so long it is not just the physical side of the rehabilitation but the mental side also becomes a battle.
I had injury problems towards the end of my career and it does drag you down.
The fight to get back to full fitness can be long, painful and very lonely.
It can be a very individual time where you have to focus on building up the strength of a knee.
When you are recovering from a serious injury ,it can be a lonely place. It can affect you mentally, there is no doubt about that.
You just have to be strong with the desire to get back to full fitness.
Staying strong and with modern techniques for injuries are obviously paying off for Devlin.
However, that year out must have been very difficult. It will have been a year of being completely determined to fight his way back and remain focused on that.
I am glad that Devlin is now fit and finally getting the opportunity to show what he can do for Aberdeen in the upcoming season.
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