Ross County’s draw with St Johnstone guaranteed Aberdeen European football next season but Dons manager Derek McInnes has not given up hope his side will be heading for the Champions League rather than the Europa League next term.
It is a sign of the progress around Pittodrie that confirmation the Dons had qualified for Europe for the third successive season was greeted with little fanfare.
McInnes, whose Reds travel to Motherwell this weekend, believes qualifying for European football by the middle of March is a notable achievement for his players.
But the chance of playing in the Champions League for the first time – should they pip Celtic to the title – means there won’t be any let-up from the Dons over the closing stretch.
He said: “It is an exciting prospect but I am reluctant to look beyond this game on Saturday.
“For any team to be champions of the country is over the full season and we have still got 24 points to play for.
“We have loads of motivation to do well and hopefully that motivation is shown on Saturday. We have an eight-game season and it is important to maximise what we have left.
“To qualify for Europe in the middle of March, with so many games still to go, is something the players deserve great credit for.
“There have been more than a few years here when we weren’t in Europe, so it is a good achievement.
“It is not obviously our primary concern but it is good nonetheless that the players have managed to tick that box and hopefully now we can just concentrate on the challenge ahead.”
McInnes, meanwhile, is confident tomorrow’s match against Motherwell will go ahead, despite the Steelmen’s manager, Mark McGhee, revealing his club may request a postponement after a flu bug swept through Fir Park.
McInnes said: “I have sympathy but it is very unusual for a game to be postponed for that – sometimes you just have to deal with it.
“I’m pretty sure the game will go ahead.”