Finishing 2nd is just as good as winning trophy
Considine insists keeping Celts in sight is top target
ANDREW CONSIDINE insists there is no defeatist attitude at Aberdeen – because he reckons being Premiership runners-up is every bit as good as lifting a trophy.
Public statements from inside Pittodrie seemed to hint the best the Dons can hope for this season is to again finish in second spot behind Celtic.
But defender Considine believes beating Rangers to that spot last season was a big deal and believes it would be an even bigger achievement to pull it off again.
And he stressed that far from throwing in the towel he and his team-mates – along with boss Derek McInnes – were simply being realistic.
He said: “The main aim is to finish second again. That would be huge for the club, especially because teams like Hibs are looking strong. Hearts too and St Johnstone.
“And Rangers have recruited massively and spent a lot of money. To beat all of them to second place would be huge and put out a big statement.
“Lifting silverware is something every player wants to do but finishing second is massive.
“In some people’s eyes winning a trophy would be more of a priority but not for me. Finishing second is just as good as lifting a trophy.
“It brings you experience in Europe. Don’t get me wrong – when we won the League Cup by beating Inverness in 2014 it was an incredible achievement.
“It was fantastic for the city and the club but having those ‘best of the rest’ bragging rights is really good for the club.”
And Considine pointed to Celtic’s Champions League display and result against Astana in midweek and the £30m they’ll hoover up for the group stages, as proof those inside Pittodrie have their feet on the ground.
He said: “I thought Celtic were brilliant on Wednesday. We can push them as hard as we can but look at the resources.
“What came to my mind was Ronny Deila’s final season when we were catching them if not ahead of them.
“Then in the winter transfer window they went and spent so many millions and just moved ABERDEEN have been fined £9000 for crowd trouble during their Europa League clash with Apollon Limassol in Cyprus last month.
The Premiership side were also warned over a lack of stewards.
Limassol were fined £25,000 for fireworks, throwing objects and improper conduct. into another gear and they were off and won the league. So it’s tougher for teams like us and Rangers, Hibs, Hearts and St Johnstone to match that.
“I don’t think that’s defeatist. Some people might expect us to say, ‘You should be saying you’re going to win the league’ but you have to be honest, second is very realistic for a team like Aberdeen.
“Our aim is to be the best of the rest.”
The 30-year-old will be in his usual left-back place at home to Dundee this afternoon – just over four months after he hit a hattrick in a 7-0 thrashing of the Dark Blues at Dens Park.
But he knows the established Dons players have to adapt to newcomers like Gary MackaySteven, the ex-Hoops winger, £300,000 purchase Stevie May, Nicky Maynard and Kari Arnason.
He said: “With the wholesale changes we’ve made in the summer I suppose some of the boys are going to have to recognise it’s going to be a huge challenge this year.
“A few holes have been left because we’ve had some very good players here over the years and they’ve gone so it means everybody’s got to step up their game even more.
“The biggest challenge for us is to make sure we have a season like we had last year.
“That’s huge for us. But I feel the way the manager has recruited this season is that he’s brought in much the same calibre as the boys he let go.
“We’re looking very strong and we have some very good young players coming through as well. There’s an exciting year ahead.”