Jack welcomes back Gers and tells them: You should be wary of us not other way

still cruised to the flag by 15 points. But Jack said: “It’s for other people to talk about whether last season was our best ever chance of winning the league.

“We felt we had a really good campaign. There’s no shame in us finishing second and doing what we did in the Premiership.

“All we want to do is look after ourselves, get a better point tally than the previous year and see where that takes us.

“We feel the way we ended the season – we lost five of our last six games – wasn’t good enough from us.

“We want to make sure we put that right this time. But there’s certainly no shame in finishing behind Celtic. They have good resources, financial backing and a big squad.

“It was always going to be a big ask for anyone to challenge Celtic for a full season. Looking back on what we’ve achieved, there’s no shame on that.”

But the Aberdeen fans’ mentality is that they should be competing with the Old Firm for honours each season.

Jack knows that. But with additions like Miles Storey, Jayden Stockley, Joe Lewis and Wes Burns , he’s convinced the Dons will be even stronger this term.

He said: “With the players we’ve brought in, we’re looking good. We’re looking to have another successful campaign. It’s always hard to meet the standards you’ve set for yourself.

“But that’s what we have to do. We always want to improve and get better every season.

“As a squad, our aim is to better points tally from last year in the league. Last season there were spells when we had a chance to get our noses in front of Celtic.

“We could have seen out games but never took our opportunities. But we expect to be stronger this time.

“Of course the fans wi l l always demand more. They want trophies and a successful Aberdeen team. The players and backroom staff are no different.

“We want to meet every challenge in every competition head on this year and see how far we get.”

As for Jack himself, he’s now injury free and looking to kick on again this season after McInnes made him skipper in 2015.

He said: “I have a good relationship with the manager and it has felt good being captain. I’ve experience of it now and that will stand me in good stead.

“At times last season it was stop-start due to injuries. That was frustrating.

“I now feel as fit as ever and I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead. The manager wants to ensure we keep our standards as high as we possibly can.”