Aberdeen striker David Goodwillie has extended his contract at Pittodrie until the end of next season.

Goodwillie has netted five goals in 25 appearances since joining the Dons in the summer following his release by Blackburn.

Manager Derek McInnes said: "We knew David would take time to get his game up to speed due to the timing of his arrival at the club but, now he has established himself, his value to the team, both on and off the park, is immense and I'm delighted he has decided his future remains with us at Aberdeen."

The 25-year-old striker added: "I've really enjoyed my experience so far at Aberdeen and have particularly enjoyed working closely with the manager and Tony (Docherty).

"There are a great bunch of players here, alongside brilliant staff, who are all working towards delivering success for the fantastic supporters.

"It's a huge club, moving in the right direction under the vision of the manager, and I wanted to remain part of that as I feel something special can happen with this team."

McInnes admits he might step up his transfer-window activity after losing defender Ashton Taylor to injury.

The centre-back underwent surgery yesterday to repair cartilage damage, which he suffered during the 3-3 Premiership draw against Dundee on Saturday.

It remains unclear exactly how long Taylor will be out for, but his injury comes on top of Russell Anderson's absence. The veteran former Scotland centre-back has been out since suffering a knee injury in August, which was originally only thought to be a six-week recovery period.

Right-back Joe Shaughnessy has returned from a loan spell at Falkirk and he could come into the Dons team for their game at St Johnstone tomorrow night.

McInnes said: "With the injury to Ash, it may well bring us to a conclusion that we have to try to bring someone in, but we do have players in the building that can do the job.

"We have got two centre-halves out injured, so it's not ideal. We are not just picking it up now, there are players out there who we are aware of.

"Things can happen quite quickly in football but we are not anticipating anyone in before tomorrow."

Taylor has built up a regular partnership with Mark Reynolds, with Shay Logan and Andy Considine playing at full-back, and the Dons went eight games without conceding a league goal before Dundee's visit to Pittodrie.

McInnes said: "We have got options. We have big Joe Shaughnessy back. Andy (Considine) has played a lot of his career at centre-back, Jonny Hayes can play left-back. Joe can play right-back and Shay Logan can play left-back."

Meanwhile, Duncan Skinner, the chairman of the Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust, has joined the club's main board as a non-executive director.