3/1 To Win
Full-back Max Lowe believes his loan spell north of the border at Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen has benefited his career.
The Academy graduate made 19 appearances for the Dons and performed admirably.
He earned huge plaudits in Scotland where he also netted one goal which came against St Mirren.
Speaking about his loan spell, Lowe told RamsTV: “I enjoyed my time there but I’m happy to be back. I want to try and play as many games for Derby now.
“When I first got the call that Aberdeen were interested, I didn’t realise how far it was. You think of Scotland being four hours away, but Aberdeen is eight hours away and it’s cold up there!
“The club was great and were top notch with me as soon as I arrived. The staff were really good with me and improved my game massively.
“I’m at that age now – I’m 21 – it was the perfect time for me to go to a different country, play a different style of football. I feel like I learned a lot being up there and played in some big games as well that helped with my development.”
During his spell in Scotland, Lowe played in front of hostile atmospheres and big crowds.
That also included a Scottish Cup Final against Celtic at a sold-out Hampden Park and a memorable victory away to Rangers.
The 21-year-old is accustomed to cup competitions now and is expected to be involved in the matchday squad against Southampton tomorrow afternoon in the FA Cup.
“I think cup runs are always good,” Lowe admitted.
“At Aberdeen we got to the final against Celtic. We didn’t manage to win but it was a great experience for me playing at Hampden Park and I will carry it on for the rest of my career and always remember it.
“Seeing what the lads did against Manchester United and they did really well against Chelsea as well, hopefully I can be a part of something here as well.
“We need to be competing with teams like that, Southampton have been in the Premier League for a few years now. We played them in pre-season and did well, hopefully we can do the same on Saturday and prove that we are capable at that level.”
His progress has been tracked closely by Rams manager Frank Lampard who has been in constant contact with the youngster.
“The gaffer was really good with me,” he commented.
“He knew my injury record and the first thing I wanted was to get 20 games under my belt, just because of the question mark of if I could do it.
“I’ve gone up there and done it and there is no worry in my head that I can’t play week-in-week-out now, hopefully a lot of people can see that as well.”
