Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson is ready for a run of games he believes will shape the club’s prospects in 2014.
The Dons travel to Inverness today to face second-placed Caley Thistle.
With further testing festive fixtures looming against Motherwell and Dundee United as well as a match against Ross County, who have yet to lose to the Dons in a competitive fixture, the defender knows the importance of adding points to the tally.
He said: “The upcoming run of games is so important and could well define our season. But they are just as important for those clubs around us in the table. If we can produce a strong run over Christmas it will set us up nicely going into the new year.”
The Dons captain has been in this situation before and remembers all too well how his side was well-placed a year ago before falling away in the second half of the campaign.
He is confident there will be no repeat this term but insists the painful experience of last year will ensure that no one at Pittodrie rests on their laurels.
He added: “For whatever reasons, whether it was loss of form or injuries, we tailed off badly and it ended up being a really frustrating campaign. So although we are quietly confident – and you never go into a season feeling pessimistic – we are aware we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves.
“There’s a lot of expectation but you get that here. That will never change but there’s no point getting over-confident and shouting our mouths off because you can quite quickly fall flat on your face.”
Anderson has been impressed by Caley Thistle’s rise to prominence in the top flight and he is not surprised to see the Highlanders riding high in the Premiership.
The loss of manager Terry Butcher to Hibernian has had no adverse effect on the players at Caledonian Stadium and, with Butcher’s replacement John Hughes set for his home debut in the dugout today, Anderson is expecting another difficult encounter.
He said: “I’m not surprised Inverness are doing so well. They have a new manager but they still have the same set of players. They have worked hard to build a work ethic and great team spirit up there and it would be naive to think all that would disappear because they have a new manager. Nothing has changed so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them stay up there.”
Dons full back Clark Robertson remains the only absentee due to a knee injury while attacker Cammy Smith, who signed a two-year contract extension, is expected to make the trip despite suffering a training knock.