Stevie May hasn’t exactly enjoyed the best time of his life up north with Aberdeen. If he wants a Dons career to continue, this is a ‘do or die’ season for him.
The ex-Hamilton and St Johnstone frontman has been poor overall in his spell in the Granite City.
In fairness to him, he’s made 75 appearances for Derek McInnes’ side. If he wants to surpass 100 of those with ease though, he really has to kick into gear this term.
May has to hit the ground running for Aberdeen
The only league the forward has been properly prolific in is the Scottish Championship. In 34 appearances he bagged an incredible 26 goals.
At Premiership level he’s only netted 29 in 113 appearances, although he has added assists to his game. He’s had 17 in the Premiership so far.
During the course of his spell at Pittodrie, he’s been far from prolific. He’s more been used as a battering ram to lay balls on to Sam Cosgrove, rather than become the clinical striker his potential suggests he could be.
In 41 appearances last term, he netted three times with six assists. That’s a pretty abysmal record for a striker. He might not have started every game, but you would like to think he could have done better than that.
With Cosgrove likely to start most games as a lone striker, May has to prove himself from the bench to start with. He has to hit the ground running with a couple of goals. Ideally, he needs to better his scoring tally from last season by the end of August.
If he does the same as last term, May won’t be a Don much longer. You’d like to think McInnes would try and shuffle him out the door if he has a barren start to 2019/20.
For all his physical attributes, May has to do more in front of goal, much more. Failure to do so may end his Aberdeen career and who knows where he goes from there. It’s a ‘do or die’ season for him.