Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne is confident the Dons can shine on the European stage next season.
The Dons defeated Latvia’s Daugava Riga and Dutch side Groningen before being knocked out of the Europa League in the third qualifying round by Real Sociedad this season.
The Reds can look forward to European football again after securing second place in the Scottish Premiership and Milne believes Derek McInnes’ side can go closer to reaching the lucrative group stages next term.
He said: “It is great we have secured second place and have European football to look forward to again next year. We experienced a great European run last year and, hopefully, this year we will go a step further
“It would be fantastic if we could make the late stages.
“Hopefully, with some decent draws and a bit of luck we have a team next season capable of reaching the latter stages. We are very proud of what Derek, Tony and the players have achieved this season.”
Milne says manager McInnes will be given scope to bring in new players to bolster his side’s chances in the Europa League.
He said: “I know we have another three games to see through but it is important we finish the season on the right note.
“There is already great anticipation building for next season.
“We have already extended the squad by bringing in Kenny McLean in January and Graeme Shinnie is ready to join in a few weeks.
“Maybe, providing the budget is stretched, there may be a couple of additional players coming in during the close season.
“For the season we have had, Derek should have been manager of the year and Adam Rooney should have been the player of the year.”
The Dons may not have enjoyed the success of last season’s League Cup triumph but Milne says there has been a huge amount of progress made at the club, both on and off the park.
He added: “Derek, Tony Docherty, the players and the backroom staff have had another fantastic season. We have continued to make real progress this season.
“We were disappointed with the early exit from the cups but that was more than offset by the incredible run in the league since October to achieve our best league position in 21 years.
“We have a record points total for the season with just three games to go, the most clean sheets since 1983-84 and Adam Rooney has scored 27 goals so far.
“It has been another tremendous season for the Dons.
“It has been a good year off the park as well.
“We have eliminated the club debt and we now have a very strong platform to start delivering the long-awaited training facilities that Derek, Tony and the players are all desperate to see.
“Hopefully, we will start to see the first phase before too long.”