'I am not going to stand for it': Firm Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin sets Andy Considine record straight, speaks on leaks and contract offer

Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin says he has the best interests of the club at heart as he refuted claims the club made Andy Considine a derisory offer.

The build-up to the Dons’ crucial league encounter with Ross County at Pittodrie on Saturday, with a place in the top six possibly at stake, has been dominated by the news that club legend Considine will leave once his contract expires at the end of the season.

Goodwin felt “compelled” to issue a statement on Wednesday explaining the defender’s contract situation and why he will exit the club he has played more than 560 times for. It came after news broke he would not be staying beyond this campaign, much to the surprise of Aberdeen fans.

It has since been reported that the contract offer put to Considine would have involved a wage cut.

“Listen, I don’t really like to go into great detail about the terms of the contract,” Goodwin said.

“The reason we did that was because there were people out there in the media [claiming] that we had made him a derisory offer. That was the only reason we put it out there.

“It was far from derisory. If anything, it was an extremely respectful offer to a player who has been a great servant to a club, who is – it’s fair to say – going into the latter stages of his career.

“He’s 35-years-old now and I felt the offer on the table was good.

“I said a few weeks ago that we were very close, that was just a case of dotting ‘i’s and crossing ‘t’s. I thought we were extremely close. Then the agent came in with this counter proposal, which was ridiculous, in my opinion.

“Everybody will have different opinions on how it’s all been handled. In my opinion, they were private and confidential discussions – and should have been kept that way. Unfortunately they