Second best is never enough for Jack
ABERDEEN captain Ryan Jack insists Aberdeen are ready to mount a stronger challenge to Celtic — but insists there was no shame in coming second to the Glasgow club last term. Celtic’s uninspiring form under Ronny Deila informed a groundswell of opinion that the Dons might never have a better chance to end their wait for a first title since 1985 and the days of Alex Ferguson.
While Derek McInnes’ men made good on their vow to improve their head-to-head record against the champions — they won both games at Pittodrie to equally share the 12 points on offer — they came up short in those fixtures where Celtic still found a way to grind out a victory.
Those matches against today’s opening-day opponents St Johnstone were a case in point.
A 5-1 defeat to Tommy Wright’s team at Pittodrie was an obvious low point but an overall haul of just four points from a possible 12 in the games against the Perth side went a long way to preventing them taking the fight to the wire.
‘It’s for other people to talk or shout about whether last season was our best ever chance of winning the league,’ retorted Jack. ‘We felt we had a really good campaign. I don’t think there’s any denying that.
‘There’s no shame in us finishing second and doing what we did in the league. All we want to do is look after ourselves, get a better points tally and see where that takes us. 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.
‘Obviously we didn’t enjoy too much success against St Johnstone and we feel the way we ended the season — we lost five of our last six games — wasn’t good enough.
‘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. The fans will always demand more. They want trophies and a successful Aberdeen team.’
Rangers’ promotion will further fuel the competition.
‘The way we’ve added to the squad we’re looking good and we expect to be stronger this season,’ continued Jack. ‘Rangers coming back into the league will be good for us. It gives us games against them at Pittodrie and Ibrox and they’ll be great occasions for the players.
‘Those matches will be packed out and you want to be involved in that. Also, you look at the players Rangers are signing and it’s clear they’re going to have a push for the title as well.
‘It might work in our favour, Rangers being there. We didn’t want to rely on other teams to do our work for us last season but there were a few occasions where, if Celtic had lost, we’d have gone ahead. Rangers will make the league stronger.’