Vicente Besuijen is hungry to serve up a return to Europe for Aberdeen – driven by his craving for sticky toffee pudding.
The diminutive Dutchman netted a sweet double as the Dons devoured Stirling Albion 5-0 on Tuesday. And he then revealed the secret behind his tasty start this term is a new-found love of the classic British dessert. Besuijen is on the hunt for the best sticky toffee pudding in the north east but only treats himself after a victory. After three wins from three in their Premier Sports Cup group, the 21-year-old is greedy for more with the Dons’ league opener 10 days away.
And he’s well aware proof of their progress will be in the pudding when they visit Celtic a week on Sunday. Besuijen said: “I love sticky toffee puddings and I still need to try some more. I need people to tell me where the best are! After a win I can get them.
“We want to win every game and we have a good squad of players. Everyone wants to improve and we are working hard in training – you can see that paying off on the pitch.
“The fans who back us up too. They are supporting us. We want to repay them after last season.
“Everyone at the club knows last season wasn’t good enough and we want to get Aberdeen back to where they belong. We have to play good, attractive football and give people a show.
“Aberdeen are one of the biggest clubs in Scotland and that’s who we are. Is European football the aim? Of course.”
It may be early days but Jim Goodwin’s new-look side are certainly showing signs they are ready to banish the memory of last season’s flop, which saw them slump to a 10th-placed finish with a whole lot of soul searching going on.
Summer signings Jayden Richardson, Ylber Ramadani, Anthony Stewart and Liam Scales have hit the ground running at Pittodrie.
Luis Lopes was handed a debut off the bench away to League Two Binos while Bojan Miovski could feature against Raith Rovers on Sunday. The old guard of Jonny Hayes, Matty Kennedy and Christian Ramirez have started well too, while Besuijen – wearing No.10 – is showing exactly why the Dons paid a hefty sum to lure him from ADO Den Haag in January.
He opened the scoring at Forthbank after cutting in off the wing and arrowing a low effort past Blair Currie. The box of tricks forward then curled home a sublime clincher as Aberdeen hit five before the break and he was a lick of paint away from a hat-trick after a second- half effort crashed off the inside of a post.
He said: “I like playing in the No.10 position but it doesn’t matter where I play – I just want the ball.
“The gaffer has given me a free role and the boys know where I want the ball. With the wingers, we rotate at times and I am showing my best form.
“I have a good relationship with the boys at the top end of the park. We have worked hard in training and we are becoming like a family. You get to know what someone likes and doesn’t as you get to know them better. I know what I can do on the ball for the team to help us.
“I can’t do it alone and it is nice the boys see that I can help us win games but we do it together. Everyone wants the same things and we are hungry for the season ahead.
“We have a group who are friends as well as team-mates. That has made it easier for the new boys to integrate. We feel more like a family this year.
“We will see where we are at against Celtic but we have one more game first. We have to keep performing at a high level and if we can do that, then we can have a good season.”
READ NEXT:
