On this day in 2015: Club legend Russell Anderson bows out at Pittodrie in final Aberdeen appearance

Russell Anderson brought an end to his 18 years as a professional footballer on this day in 2015 by making his final appearance with boyhood club Aberdeen.

There was very little riding on the visit of St Johnstone to Pittodrie, with Derek McInnes side having already secured second place in the Premiership, and although they fell to a 1-0 defeat, captain Anderson took the acclaim of the home crowd after making his 407th and final appearance for the Reds.

The local lad had risen through the ranks to make his first team debut under Roy Aitken in 1997, and would go onto score his first goal for the club in the 1999/2000 campaign.

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A serious injury suffered in the 2000 Scottish Cup final defeat to Rangers meant that the youngster missed the entire 2000/2001 season, but made a great recovery and became one of the first names on the team sheet in the next five years.

In 2003 he was named Dons skipper by manager Steve Paterson, and then became an integral part under successor Jimmy Calderwood’s side that gradually got Aberdeen back up the table. His performances were recognised at international level, with Anderson winning 11 caps between 2002 and 2008.

Three years later he was given a testimonial at Aberdeen, and over 12,000 fans were in attendance at Pittodrie to celebrate own of their own in a 3-2 loss to Everton.

That same summer he signed for Premier League side Sunderland for a fee of £1million, but was restricted to just two appearances in three seasons due to injury.