Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie has called on his teammates to keep their foot firmly on the gas as they gear up for a pivotal Premier Sports Cup semi-final clash against Celtic at Hampden Park.
With an unwavering focus, he issued a warning to the rest of Scottish football, emphasising that the Dons are still in a phase of development under manager Jimmy Thelin.
Aberdeen have won 15 of the 16 matches since the Swede took the reins this summer, with their only dropped points coming in a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month.
This upcoming Scottish League Cup clash with Celtic offers a golden opportunity for the Dons to establish themselves as the only unbeaten side in domestic competitions this season.
The excitement among the Aberdeen supporters soared even higher following Wednesday’s thrilling 2-1 league triumph over Rangers at Pittodrie. This victory not only demonstrated the team’s growing confidence but also extended their lead over the Light Blues to nine points in the Scottish Premiership.
Despite this momentum, Shinnie echoed the sentiment of his boss, who has been keen to temper expectations, reminding everyone to stay 'humble' and that the team has yet to achieve their ultimate goals.
He believes there is still significant room for improvement and that the Aberdeen squad must remain focused and driven as they strive for success.
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“We are in a good place so it’s about enjoying that but it’s also about keeping our foot on the pedal because nothing has been achieved,” the Aberdeen midfielder said.
“It’s about trying to continue what we are doing and trying to continue to get better. It’s still reasonably early in the manager’s era so we are still learning as we go and there’s still areas of our game that we need to get better at. We know that.
“It’s enjoying it while we are at it because winning games is enjoyable but on top of that it’s about keeping right on top of it and keeping our foot on the gas.
“There’s still big parts of games that we have to do better in. Wednesday night was the same. I thought, the end of the first half and start of the second half we weren’t great in the game. So we are still learning bits and pieces and trying to get better every game.
“Looking at the game and how we did and what we need to be better, we are still early in the era under the manager and we are still learning. We can use these games to watch and learn but we can definitely take confidence from them.
“There’s a strong belief, and I think that comes from how we have performed recently, the run that we’re on. But we know the challenge at hand as well and that Celtic will confident as well. We will try to focus on ourselves and do the things that have done well for us this season.
“Anything can happen in a cup game, I know that over the years that I have played in the cups. We will be focused and ready to go and excited for it.”
