McGuire signs new deal

Phil McGuire says other young players will stay

Phil McGuire has signed a new contract that ties him to Aberdeen until the end of the season in 2005.

And the former Scotland Under-21 defender believes that several of the Dons' out-of-contract starlets will soon follow suit.

The Scottish Premier League are delighted to have reached a satisfactory deal with the 22-year-old after only two weeks of negotiations with the player and agent John Viola.

McGuire, whose current contract runs until the end of this season, had earlier been linked with a possible move to Celtic.

A lot of the young players have decided to stick together

Phil McGuire

"I am happy to have this sorted out," he told his club's website.

"A lot of the young players who have been brought up together at Aberdeen have decided that the best thing for us all is to stick together.

"Hopefully this way we can bring the club some success."

McGuire believes the club can start winning silverware and wants to be part of that.

Manager Ebbe Skovdahl is delighted to be holding on to one of his promising young players.

"As everyone knows, a large number of the squad is out of contract at the end of the season," he said.

"Phil was one of the players I wanted to keep, so I am glad he has committed himself to the Dons."