Aberdeen defender Andrew Considine believes this is the best Dons team he has been part of and is relishing the rise up the Premiership table.
The Dons are just a point behind second-placed Inverness after an impressive 2-0 win against Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday and Considine is confident there is more to come from the Reds as they strive to finish best of the rest behind champions-elect Celtic.
Adam Rooney scored twice in the first half of a game the Dons dominated, with Niall McGinn hitting the woodwork twice before the interval.
Considine is in his testimonial season and was thrilled to make amends for the 3-0 loss to the Arabs at Pittodrie on the opening day of the season.
Asked if this is the best team he has played in, the 27-year-old said: “I would say so, although we had a cracking side when we got to the last 32 in Europe under Jimmy Calderwood a few years ago. Being a part of this team and playing week in and week out has probably been better, especially seeing the likes of Ryan Jack and Peter Pawlett coming on. We have a fantastic team.
“The team is doing well, scoring goals and keeping clean sheets and that is massively important for the back five. The signs are really encouraging.
“I would say we were due them one because losing 3-0 at home on the first day of the season was a real sore one to take. It was great to put in a performance like that.”
Considine had a part in Rooney’s second as his attempted shot turned into a cross for the Dubliner to tap in and he said: “I have to be honest and say it was a shot. I did try to score but, thankfully, Adam was in the right place at the right time.
“I thought we were outstanding in the first half and we got in their faces, which we were told to do. We were then solid for the second half.
“It would be great if Adam could hit mid-20s or even 30 goals. There haven’t been too many attackers at Aberdeen who have done that for a while. He has been fantastic since he first put on an Aberdeen shirt.
“With the firepower we have with David Goodwillie, Adam, Niall McGinn, Jonny Hayes and Peter Pawlett we should be scoring goals. They score tonnes of goals in training.
“After winning 3-0 against Hamilton last week, and with this result, everything will hopefully fall into place.”
Now for the rush of Christmas fixtures and Considine added: “We have got our tails up. Hopefully, we can have a good Christmas and next time we play Celtic we will be near the top of the league.
“We will give it our best shot against Celtic. We give them good games and when we play them it goes to the wire and I don’t see why we can’t push them.
“We have nothing to lose, so why not try to push them to the wire? It would be fantastic, but our concentration is getting a top-four finish and, in particular, that second spot.”