Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne fears keeping manager Derek McInnes at Pittodrie is likely to be one of his greatest challenges.
McInnes’ stock has been on the rise since he replaced Craig Brown in March 2013, most notably by ending the club’s 19-year wait for a trophy by guiding the Dons to a 2014 League Cup final win.
The Dons manager, pictured, built on a third-place finish in his first season in charge by helping the club to a first runners-up placing in two decades and a record points haul for a club outwith the Old Firm.
The progress under McInnes at Pittodrie has not gone unnoticed and Milne knows the directors at other clubs will be keeping close tabs on the highly rated Dons manager, who endured a difficult spell at Bristol City before moving to Aberdeen.
Milne said: “That is just the reality of the game. I would rather Derek is doing a fantastic job here and people are looking at him as opposed to him struggling and nobody having any interest in him.
“We know that at some point in the future that is going to be a big challenge for the club.
“The important thing is we have everyone at the football club focused on what needs to be done in the short to medium-term.
“I think Derek is very happy at the club. He has a good relationship with the board and the supporters are 100% behind him.
“It is a job he views as a big challenge and he is enjoying it.”
McInnes and his assistant Tony Docherty agreed four-year contract extensions in the summer to remain with the Dons until 2019.
The agreement provided security for both parties as the club will receive hefty compensation should McInnes opt for a fresh challenge.
But Milne sees little to suggest the Aberdeen manager harbours ambitions to leave Pittodrie before his contract ends. The Dons chairman added: “When Derek took on the job, I think he viewed it as a medium to long-term prospect of getting the club back to where we all want to see it. He still sees himself at the very early stages of that but Derek and Tony have made tremendous progress.
“They accept they still have some way to go to get the club back there and prove that we can stay in the top part of the league.
“Derek is very happy at Pittodrie. He enjoys the job and knows he is working with a board that believes in him and which is prepared to do all it can to support him.
“I think we are in a pretty good place at the moment and everyone is working towards the same goals.”