Maloney and May still top of wish list for Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes

ABERDEEN manager Derek McInnes last night revealed he is “confident” of signing Shaun Maloney within the next 48 hours.

And, after watching Aberdeen cruise to a 3-0 friendly win over St Johnstone, the Dons boss also confirmed he is in discussions with Preston North End over Stevie May.

Maloney is understood to have agreed a two-year deal with the Reds, pending a medical, but has yet to put pen to paper.

Nevertheless, the Pittodrie gaffer believes it is only a matter of time until the ex-Hull City star seals his Pittodrie deal.

“We’ve been going at Shaun’s pace out of respect for making his decision and dealing with Hull,” said McInnes. “But, all going well, we may be able to make an announcement at the beginning of the week.

“I’m confident of getting him but we’ve been here before – until somebody actually signs you’re not certain.

“But I feel I’ll be able to speak a wee bit more about it at the beginning of the week.”

At 34 years old, Maloney will not bring the sort of pace to Pittodrie possessed by departed stars Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn.

But McInnes insists the experienced attacker has plenty to offer. He added:“I don’t want to talk too much about Shaun until we’ve signed him, but he is the type of player with the level of ability to handle the demands at our club. That’s important.

“That’s what we’re trying to do. We might not always replace like-for-like in terms of what we’ve lost but it’s about bringing a certain level of player into the club.

“We’ve probably got another three or four signings to make. I’d like to bring in another centre-forward, and we need a wide player and another centre-back.

“So we’ve got work to do, we’ve got targets, and we’re working hard to bring them in.”

One of those targets is Stevie May, but owing to Preston’s managerial situation, McInnes understands he may have to bide his time.

“Again, I’m reluctant to speak too much about it,” said the Dons boss. “My regard for him is well-known but he’s Preston’s player. He’s somebody we’ve had conversations about with them. It’s their call ultimately and, obviously, they’ve got a manager to appoint.”

There was no Maloney or May at McDiarmid, but Aberdeen didn’t struggle in attack against Saints.

The Perth side, who rested most of their key men ahead of their decisive Europa League clash with FK Trakai on Thursday, fell behind to an Adam Rooney tap-in before Ryan Christie headed home just before the break.

Aberdeen changed their entire outfield line-up in the second half, with ex-Don Kevin McNaughton and German-Turkish trialist defender Berkay Dabanli among them. But the game petered out to a quiet conclusion following Bruce Anderson’s late settler.