WHAT a difference a year has made for Shayden Morris.
This time 12 months ago the winger was conspicuous by his absence at Pittodrie having been dropped from the squad by his concerned caretaker manager Neil Warnock due to the abuse which he had been subjected to by a section of the Aberdeen support.
On Saturday, the same fans who booed him before a William Hill Premiership home match against Motherwell last February and then sarcastically cheered when he was substituted during the first-half, regaled him with a lusty rendition of “Shady Mo”, the song they now chant in his honour, as he came off late on.
Morris, who had taken full advantage of his first start since January and set up Oday Dabbagh for both of his goals in an emphatic Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final triumph over Queen’s Park, has come an awfully long way.
So how has the 22-year-old, who has now provided no fewer than 11 assists in total during the 2024/25 campaign, turned his career around in such spectacular fashion and gone from being a target for the boo boys to a darling of the Red Army?
Working on the defensive side of his game, an area which was sadly lacking when he arrived from Fleetwood Town, with current manager Jimmy Thelin this term has paid dividends. However, the English forward revealed that focusing on his mentality has been transformative.
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“I wasn't too sure how it was going to go for me this season,” he said. “To be in this kind of form right now, to be getting that sort of reception, it's amazing for me. I’ve been really, really happy to see it. Especially where I've come from at the start of the season.
“I've been doing some work. I won't give away my secrets, but I've been working hard. I've been doing a lot of things off the pitch, a lot of mental stuff to get myself really confident and up for every game. So I'm kind of happy it's showing more on the pitch and my stats are good for the season so far.
“We know what happened last season with me. It was a tough, tough time. But resetting and being able to speak with people, it helped me a lot. I would say it was a moment that changed my career. It allowed me to be more mentally stable and not let too many things get to me. I'm going into every game with full confidence.”
“We're going there with full confidence whoever we get,” he said. “Our main focus now is to keep up the form in the league. Going to Hampden in good form is really important for us. We're going to focus on the league and then look to go there and do well in the cup.
“We learned that anything can happen. We played Celtic twice and one game was close and the other one wasn't too close. So we know anything can happen at Hampden. We're just going to go there, believe in ourselves, do what we can and see what we can do.
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“It's been an up and down season. We went up and we went down for a bit. But now I feel like we're coming back to our best. We've learnt a lot more about ourselves. We've got new players in and we're starting to gel better with each other. So I think by the time it comes to that game, we'll be in full confidence going into it.
“We want to win the game, win the semi, win the final. That's our aim. Whoever it is, we want to win the game. So we're going in there trying to win. I feel like it's a new squad, new manager, new kind of environment, new feeling in the club. So we're going to go there fresh and try to win something, bring something back to the city.”
Queen’s Park, who recorded a famous win over Rangers at Ibrox in the previous round last month, were missing a raft of key players on Saturday and were far from their best. Still, their opponents performed with assurance from front to back and were well worth both their win and their place in the last four. Their display augurs well for the weeks ahead.
Thelin brought in no fewer than six new players during the January transfer window and they have made Aberdeen, who return to action when they play St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park this Saturday, a far more formidable outfit. Scoring goals is certainly, with Nisbet once again finding the target at the weekend and Dabbagh pitching in with a double, not a concern.
“It pushes the standards so much when you've got good players in the building,” said Morris. “I know if I have a good game, I’ve still got to keep performing because there's other players that are really good and have got good quality.
“There’s a healthy competition in the squad. When I was on the bench the last few games, I was pushing other players. But I still want more. I’m still hungry for more, still hungry to provide more for the team.”
