New boss Booth excited by Aberdeen 'project'published at 13:22 GMT 31 October 2024
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

New Aberdeen manager Scott Booth says the "project" of trying to take the side from amateur status to fully professional meant returning to his former club was "the decision I had to make".
The 52-year-old, who had two spells at Pittodrie during his playing career, has moved back to the north east from Glasgow City where he was assistant head coach.
Booth believes his six-year spell in charge of Glasgow City during his first spell there (2015-21) has prepared him well for the job at the Dons, who are currently ninth in the SWPL, one place above the relegation zone.
"Obviously it was a massive pull to come back to Aberdeen," said the 52-year-old former Scotland striker.
"The difficulty was I had just gone back to Glasgow City and they are a great club with great people and I felt a large degree of loyalty towards them.
"But when I weighed everything up, it was the decision I felt like I had to make.
"I knew the facility here was good, I knew that the whole thing is a project for the women's side - I have been through that with Glasgow City - going from amateur to hybrid to fully professional, so that was something I enjoyed."
Glasgow City are one of a clutch of teams in the SWPL who are effectively running fully professional operations.
For the rest it is a tough gap to bridge until they – like Aberdeen ultimately hope to do – can get to that level.
"You are up against clubs now that are fully professional, and some of them put a lot of financial backing into it," Booth added.
"That is the difficult bit, where we are amateur with ambition to firstly go to almost a hybrid then go professional, but that time to get there you are up against sides that are already there and building on what they have.
"So it is not easy but it is something you have to go through if you want to get there."
Booth, who says he would like to take more of the women's games to Pittodrie, is hoping to benefit from the feelgood factor surrounding the men’s team.
He said: "It is like an all-time high at the moment on the men's side, so I hope we can generate from that success and get the fans to come and support the women’s side."