Stephen Robinson has ruled out sending Aberdeen midfielder Findlay Marshall out on loan, insisting the 20-year-old is an integral part of his plans.
Marshall impressed on his first start for the Dons in Tuesday's 4-0 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park. After a series of brief appearances, the Pittodrie first-team door appears to be opening for the young player, who signed a new long-term contract in the summer following a successful loan spell at Arbroath.
Robinson: Marshall stays at Pittodrie
Robinson confirmed: "No, we want Findlay to stay. Some games he'll be involved in, some he won't."
"We've got a decent squad now and everyone's fit and he's done himself no harm last week."
"He's a confident boy. He's had his loan. I believe loans are a big, big development in players."
"Dylan (Lobban)'s out doing really well at the moment (with Dunfermline Athletic) and other people will go out on loan, but no, we want to keep Marsh involved."
"We see him as an integral part of going forward and being with us on the training pitch as well."
Robinson had previously suggested another loan could be considered if Marshall was not getting regular game time, but that is no longer an option.
Praise for Marshall's performance
Robinson was full of praise for Marshall's display at Fir Park. He claimed: "I thought he was excellent."
"It's difficult to give young players game time because it's such a small league and you're under pressure."
"But we've managed to give a 15-year-old his debut in Andrew Fasanya while Marsh has been consistently knocking on the door."
"I just thought he deserved to start and showed really good energy. I wish he had a shot at the end and got himself a goal. A goal as well, he deserved that."
"But I'm really, really pleased with the performance."
Dons end away drought, Tobers returns
The victory at Motherwell was Aberdeen's first Premiership win on the road since beating Dundee in December. Robinson admitted he changed preparations for away games to bring a change of fortune, including leaving later and avoiding spending all day at a hotel.
Robinson said: "We have changed things. We did for all the away cup games, which we won all of them."
"We changed the preparation here, small things. We leave a little bit later instead of being at a hotel all day on the Monday."
"It's usually a Friday when you're travelling. But we leave a little bit later, have our dinner at Cormack Park, and we went out and walked through some shape and stuff before the game."
"We're not staying in the rooms all day, which isn't normal. You don't do that at home. So is that the reason that we won? No, the reason is because the players produced a really good performance to me."
Robinson also confirmed that Kristers Tobers has returned to full training after two long-term injuries. The Aberdeen manager said: "He's joined in training which is really positive for us."
"Super boy. Loads of setbacks. Mentally, very, very strong but he's back on the training pitch."
Aberdeen have KDM Trophy games and a friendly scheduled during the international break. Robinson will not rush Tobers and will be guided by the medical team and the Latvian skipper himself. He added: "We've got the KDM games during the break as well."
"We've got a friendly game during the break as well so probably I'm not sure medically if he'll be ready for that but back on the pitch is good to see."
