Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is confident he can bring success back to Pittodrie but insists building a team capable of competing at the right end of the table and reaching cup finals will take time.
McInnes won the SPFL manager-of-the-month award for September thanks to an unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, which included a 1-0 victory against then league leaders Caley Thistle as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the League Cup with a 5-0 win against Falkirk.
A growing sense of optimism for the season ahead has already engulfed the Aberdeen support, which is perhaps hardly surprising given the bottom-six finishes they have endured in the previous four seasons.
But McInnes does not want anyone planning an open-top bus parade on Union Street just yet.
He said: “Nothing has changed since the day I got the job. A lot of good players and managers have come through the door at Aberdeen with the same aspirations as me but it hasn’t happened for them. There is no magic wand.
“Just because you play or manage Aberdeen doesn’t mean success will come to you. I just believe my way of working will help turn the tide at the club and get stages of progress.
“I’m trying to improve a lot of stuff on the football side and we’re well on our way with that. It’s about trusting the way I work. If we do that, we can replicate what other clubs have had in the last few years. They’ve shown it can be done.
“It’s an opportunity and a challenge. The attraction of managing them is it’s a club which is capable of far better – we all know that.
“We have to do everything we can to make that happen. Our team is good to watch right now and we have players who can help make us successful.
“It’s about producing a level of consistency which differentiates between teams competing at the right end of the table and getting to cup finals – to the rest.
“We haven’t had that but now we want a bit of it.”
The Aberdeen supporters appear content with the job McInnes has done at Pittodrie so far.
The 42-year-old spent five years with Rangers as a player but the Dons manager does not believe that his previous affiliation to the club’s rivals should hinder his chances of becoming a popular Aberdeen manager.
He added: “It was never mentioned in the interview. It has not been an issue and nor should it be an issue.
“I will be judged on what we do on the pitch and my players will be judged on what we do on the pitch, not what club we used to play for.
“It is a case of trying to represent the supporters each time we play – and they have done their bit already this season. We want to do our bit for them.”