Niall McGinn insists he’ll make Aberdeen contract decision at end of the season

NIALL MCGINN says there would be no better way to sign off at Aberdeen than by helping the Dons land the William Hill Scottish Cup.

The Pittodrie wideman is out of contract in six weeks’ time but has yet to sign the fresh deal put on the table by Derek McInnes.

The Dons boss is bracing himself for bad news but McGinn insists he will not make a final decision until the end of the campaign.

But if this is to be his final few days in the Grannite City, the Northern Irishman wants to ensure they are toasted with a cup triumph.

Aberdeen face Hibernian at Hampden a week on Saturday for the right to content the season-ending showdown with either Celtic or Rangers.

He told RedTV: “The priority is to get to a cup final and hopefully even win a trophy. We won the League Cup a few years back and that was an incredible experience. What it meant for the fans and the city was brilliant.

“I think a Scottish Cup winners medal for Aberdeen would be unbelievable and would be a nice way to finish the season for everyone.”

The Red Army are in for a nervous wait as McGinn delays announcing his plans for the future.

The Dons support have taken to the former Celtic youngster since he made his move north in 2012 and the Northern Ireland international admits he owes the club a lot for helping to put career back on track after frustrating spells at Parkhead and Brentford.

But that may not be enough to persuade him to stay.

“Before I signed for Aberdeen I had opportunities to go elsewhere,” he explained. “Once Aberdeen came in for me it was a no-brainer. Having played in Scotland before I knew what type of club I was coming to. It was a great opportunity and thankfully I made the right decision at the right time and it has worked wonders for me.

“I came here on a free transfer when Craig Brown brought me in. I had a great first season and scored a lot of goals. I am touching 70 goals and have also weighed in with a lot of assists.

“Coming here restarted my career in many ways and helped my international career too. The club have been great towards me as have the fans. I have loved my time here, it has been really really positive. I want to keep that going over the next few weeks.

“The manager has spoken about my future. I am out of contract in the summer and have not signed a contract yet.

“It is an ongoing thing and I am weighing up options and I will make a decision at the end of the season. The most important thing for me is to keep enjoying my football with Aberdeen.

“I will just play it by ear and see what happens come the end of the season.”

For now, McGinn hopes Aberdeen can bounce back from last week’s painful 3-0 defeat by Rangers when they take on St Johnstone in Perth this Saturday and ensure they face Hibs on a high.

“Despite what happened last Sunday our confidence is still very high and it is important we can keep that going,” he said. “With any cup semi-final you want to be going in on a good run.

“We’ve been on a very good run apart from a poor spell against Rangers. It was a bad four or five minutes but victory on Saturday would set us up nicely for the semi-final.”