Midfielder Ryan Jack wants the Dons to use their Scottish Cup defeat against Dundee as motivation in their bid to finish best of the rest in the Scottish Premiership.
David Clarkson’s last minute goal knocked the Dons out of the national cup in the fourth round in an agonising finale at Dens Park on Saturday.
But Jack wants his side to channel that disappointment in the right manner by focusing on improving their position in the league.
The Dons are in fifth position, four points adrift of leaders Celtic and second-placed Caley Thistle.
But they can leapfrog Saturday’s opponents Hamilton Accies, who are two points in front of the Pittodrie side, with a victory on Saturday.
Jack said: “Hamilton, Dundee United and Caley Thistle have all started the season well.
“Everyone expected Celtic to come good and go on a good run but hopefully we can do the same and make it interesting.
“It can only be good for the Scottish Premiership that there are so many sides involved at the top end of the table.
“We are not going to get carried away with making predictions about where we are going to finish.
“We will just concentrate on getting points on the board. We know Hamilton will give us a tough game, but we are going to do all we can to make amends for last week and get the three points.”
The Dons finished third in the Scottish Premiership last season after being pipped for the runners-up position on the final day of the season by Motherwell.
But Jack believes his side has enough quality for another sustained challenge at the top end of the table.
He said: “We added a few players to the squad over the summer to the base we had last year and I definitely think we have a stronger squad this season. Hopefully over the coming months we will be able to prove that.”