After his brief stint at Aberdeen, Jayden Richardson has stated that he had no reservations about returning to Scotland at St Mirren.
This summer, the 24-year-old full-back left Boreham Wood to sign a two-year contract in Paisley, north of the border.
Richardson was only engaged for half a season at Pittodrie after spending two years officially as an Aberdeen player, from 2022 to 2024, before being sent out on loan to Stockport and Colchester.
Richardson is certain that moving to St. Mirren on a free transfer is the right choice, even though he had trouble getting into the first squad in Scotland.
Quizzed on whether he has unfinished business in Scotland, the defender said:Â “I think for a personal term, you want to play as many games as possible and you want to play as good as possible.
“But everyone knows with football there are ups and downs, so hopefully I can come here and have a lot of ups.
“With football there’s ups and downs and it might not be the right time, right place.
“I’m just focused on playing football now and hopefully playing as best as I can.”
“No, when you think of it like that, it will eat you alive,” Richardson responded to whether his Aberdeen experience casted any doubt on a move to St Mirren.
“So for me and my personal beliefs, you just have to take every game as you can and think positively, because if you think negatively and think on the past or if a bad decision happens, even in football, if you think a bad pass, it can just eat you alive and then you’ll be negative.
“So you have to, for me, be positive and look at everything in a positive view, yeah.”
Richardson is in line for a first competitive start for St Mirren against Arbroath this weekend, having seamlessly settled into the squad.
A prior relationship with Alex Iacovitti, stemming from the Nottingham Forest youth academy, has helped in that regard.
“It obviously helps knowing Alex and being with him from a young age, so it’s good,” said Richardson of being welcomed into the dressing room.”
“Yeah, he’s the exact same Alex, honestly,” he added of his team-mate.
“On the pitch, he’s a workhorse, you don’t want to mess with him.
“Off the pitch, the nicest guy ever, dopey, clumsy, but honestly, everyone loves Al, he’s the best.
“The boys have been fantastic.
“I’ve been to Spain, so that was a big help, getting away with the boys in a different country, training, camp, and then meals and stuff like that.
“Just little things you take for granted, but help settle into a team.”
The requirement to finish a singing initiation as a new player at St. Mirren is another example of those minor details. There was little prospect of escaping Richardson’s middle name, De’Chante, which means ‘to sing’ in French.
The crowd-pleaser gave him a sly smile. “I just sang Drake, just a little something that everyone knew,” he said. Get the boys to join me in singing, literally.
