Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne has praised manager Derek McInnes for bringing stability and the promise of more success to his club.
Milne is delighted with his club’s rise following four years of languishing in the bottom half of the division.
McInnes led the Dons to their first silverware in 19 years as the club won the League Cup in March and followed by taking the team to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
He capped a fine first full campaign by bringing Europa League football back to the club for the first time in five years with a third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership.
His accomplishments led to him being named manager of the year by both the Scottish Football Writers Association and PFA Scotland.
Milne is eager to build on a successful campaign and said: “The club has shown its intent and so has Derek.
“He is quietly setting about doing the job which needs to be done here and its an approach which works well at this club.
“I desperately wanted to see a trophy being delivered at the club and a successful team on the pitch.
“It’s the same dream every other supporter has, but it’s more important we are on the right path long term. Being up and down from one season to the next is not what we need.
“It’s important for us we make things happen and enjoy it rather than talk about what we are going to do, and in Derek we have a manager who does just that.”
Expectations have increased following the end of the trophy-less years, but Milne is confident his club is well placed to compete consistently for honours.
He said: “We should be in contention to get through to the latter stages of cup competitions and aiming to qualify for Europe.
“Anything less than that will be a disappointment, but we have no given right to be there. We have to earn it by getting results on a consistent basis.
“We’re beginning to see that under Derek. Yes there has been setbacks, but the confidence is building and the team has shown it can recover from those setbacks.
“We’re under no illusions, there will be more setbacks, but our ability to recover from them is better.
“There is a great opportunity for the club to establish itself again but one of the painful lessons I’ve learned in football is not to get ahead of yourself.
“It’s one of the things I like about Derek’s approach. It’s all well and good having aspirations but they have to be managed properly and delivered.”