Aberdeen response suggests Exeter City deadline day signing can save season | OneFootball

Angus MacDonald looks like a perfect addition to Exeter City's backline and his history of leadership and fire fighting will be badly needed.

Gary Caldwell has plenty of fires to put out at St James Park at the moment.

The January transfer window didn't go as expected for Exeter City, with Tristan Crama recalled and Millenic Alli heading to Luton Town towards the end of the month, all while results on the pitch nosedived.

Crama's departure was particularly-keenly felt as he had been City's best player this season and pretty much every other defender in the squad is now injured, out of form, or out of favour.

Centre-backs were high on Caldwell's list of priorities and he brought two in on permanent deals on deadline day with Ed Turns and Angus MacDonald signing on the dotted line.

They joined Alex Hartridge to bolster the backline, with the former City man surprisingly returning on loan from Wycombe Wanderers a few days prior.

We know all about the latter, but it was reassuring to see Turns and MacDonald getting high praise from supporters of their former clubs when their moves to Devon's capital were confirmed.

Turns is one for both now and the future while MacDonald, with proven quality and experience, should be worth his weight in gold to a patched-up defence that currently looks hopelessly out of its depth and has conceded 13 goals in the last three games.

Angus MacDonald brings quality and experience

The exciting thing about MacDonald is that he's received rave reviews from Dons supporters for his actions on and off the pitch and has a track record of helping to immediately turn around a slump on arrival - something the Grecians badly need right now as they flirt dangerously with a serious relegation battle.

Aberdeen were enjoying a good 2022/23 Scottish Premiership campaign before they hit the buffers in December and went on a run of nine losses in 11 games.

MacDonald arrived in January of 2023, instantly settled into a back three, and helped his new side to a run of eight wins in nine matches which propelled them to European football and some great nights the following season.

In those wins were a streak of five straight clean sheets, including in big games against Rangers and Hearts.

While we're used to Caldwell ringing up his contacts to get players in, it was assistant Kevin Nicholson who helped persuade the 32-year-old to move back south of the border and he was his manager at Torquay almost a decade ago.

Nicholson chose MacDonald as his captain and it's a role he's taken on a number of times throughout his career.

Angus MacDonald deal perfect for all parties

He's a natural leader and has come through major adversity off the pitch, successfully beating bowel cancer in 2019, so he's clearly a man who's equal to any fight.

If all goes well you fancy he'll only be at St James Park for the duration of his six-month contract, and it's a good place for him to showcase his ability after falling down the pecking order and struggling for game time at Pittodrie this term.

Caldwell has alluded to the short-term nature of the deal being good for all parties, with City desperate for quality additions now and MacDonald needing to put in good performances to guarantee employment next season, wherever that may be.

“Angus we know through Nicho and we felt that we need an experienced figure in defence at the moment to get us organised, to stop us conceding far too many goals," he told the club website on the announcement of the deal.

“Experience is a vital part of any defence and he will be a massive part of what we do from now until the end of the season. The short-term nature of it allows him to see us, us to see him, and then in the summer we can see what happens from there.”

All in all this signing feels like a match made in heaven and a quick look at the comments from Dons fans reveals plenty of fond memories and praise for the instant impact he made when signing for them two years ago.

Let's hope City fans share a similar feeling when MacDonald eventually departs and, who knows, maybe he'll stay beyond the summer.