Jim Goodwin has insisted his current Aberdeen squad can deliver European football - but he is already putting plans in place to strengthen for next season.
The new Dons boss took his new-look team for the first time in the weekend draw with Motherwell and will make his Pittodrie bow against Dundee United this weekend.
Goodwin has assessed the players he has inherited and has already held a meeting with director of football Steven Gunn to target the players who they hope will help get Aberdeen back competing at the top of the Scottish game.
Goodwin said: “I have assessed the squad, I know where we are at.
“There is no window coming up that we can move players on and bring half-a-dozen players in.
“It is what it is. We’ve got a good enough team available to us right now to get the necessary points that we get into the top six come the split.
“Therefore, we can then look at trying to catch fifth and fourth. I have already had conversations at length with Steven Gunn at Cormack Park.
“I have given him the type of profile of player I am looking for and we will go through the database.
“The head of recruitment is coming in for a meeting on Thursday afternoon.
“I want to see the type of players he has identified and make sure those players suit how I want my team to play.
“They will have to be able to run, be athletic, professional and good characters.
“If we can add a bit of ability on top of that then we will give ourselves a good chance of being successful next season."
Goodwin believes he has a squad good enough to make Europe and wants them to be their collective goal.
The Aberdeen manager, talking to RedTV, claimed: “I have told the squad there is no transfer window and there is going to be nothing happening between now and the summer.
“It is very much the group of staff and players we have at our disposal right now.
“We will go and try and finish the season strongly with.
“There is not a great deal between ourselves and fourth place.
“We need to start winning games and to put points on the board, it is as simple as that.
“I know after the game on Saturday I haven’t inherited a terrible squad of players or a team that is languishing at the bottom of the table.
“We are in an okay position from a new manager’s point of view.
“We are still a distance from where we want to be, in those European places.
“That is the drive and ambition for the players and the backroom staff between now and the end of the season.”
Goodwin handed Ross McCrorie a new long-term contract and insisted he can become a future Aberdeen captain.
The versatile defender had a contract until the summer of 2024 but has now penned a deal that should keep him at Pittodrie until 2026.
It is the first big move of Goodwin’s tenure and he knows that McCrorie will be a big player for his new-look Dons side.
Goodwin said:: “If you could have another six or seven Ross McCrorie's in your side, then you would be a very, very good team.
“Ross is everything I want in an Aberdeen player – his attitude, his personality, the respect he has for people around the club and the way he goes about his business.
“Having come up against him often enough, I know what type of player and character he is.
“He is future captain material. He leads by example, he is a great professional, he would run through a brick wall for you. I think supporters love to see that in players.
“Ross signing on for another couple of seasons tells you what he thinks of Aberdeen. I had a good conversation with Ross. “I think our ambitions as a football club match his own ambitions. We are very lucky to have him.”
