Aberdeen forward Niall McGinn is bracing himself for another hectic close season after helping the Dons to their best finish in 21 years.
The Northern Ireland international set up one goal and scored the other in his club’s 2-1 win at Caley Thistle on Saturday with the win ensuring the Dons will finish no worse than second in the Scottish Premiership.
With a place in next season’s Europa League also secured McGinn, who will be on international duty in June for Northern Ireland’s European championship qualifier against Romania at Windsor Park on June 13, is preparing for another busy summer.
But having experienced the same workload last year he insists the lack of a break is not an issue.
He said: “It makes no different to me as I don’t finish until June 13 anyway. Inverness are in the cup final and we wish them all the best for that, but we want to focus on ourselves and that’s to win as many games as we can from now until the end of the season.
“The manager is always good to me and he’ll give me some time off after the Northern Ireland game and I’ll probably meet up after the summer about a week after the rest of the players.
“I may get a week’s break after the season ends but I’ll be playing it by ear.
“That’s been the norm for me over the last few years and I’m fortunate to be in that position being an international player.
“I was on the South American tour last summer, but I enjoy it. I’m a professional footballer and I love what I’m doing. To be part of an international squad is great and to have the opportunity to qualify for a major tournament is unbelievable.”
But before McGinn turns his attention to international football and the new campaign he will reflect on another successful season after playing his part in securing Aberdeen’s highest league finish since 1994.
He said: “It’s a massive time for me both for club and country.
“We want to keep improving and the international stage has also been great for me. I’ll not get carried away as there’s plenty of football to be played.
“It’s a massive achievement as we wanted to progress from last season and the big disappointment of losing to Motherwell and with it second place on the final day of last season has been in the back of our minds.
“Thankfully we have passed that stage this season and are guaranteed that second spot.
“It’s been a long time since we achieved that so it’s great for the club and supporters and it shows we are improving. It’s good to be up there challenging and at least Celtic aren’t running away with the league.”