Former Aberdeen defender Kevin McNaughton reckons the Dons will benefit from keeping their squad intact during football’s lockdown.
Despite Sam Cosgrove being a target of French Ligue 2 side Guingamp, the Dons have not sold anyone during the summer transfer window.
Greg Leigh and Jon Gallagher returned to their parent clubs while Danny Rogers and Frank Ross were let go. There was some speculation linking Lewis Ferguson with a move away from Pittodrie but no offers have materialised.
With the new season less than three weeks away, McNaughton hopes it proves to be a blessing in disguise that Aberdeen remain as they were.
He said: “The good thing about Aberdeen over the last five or six years is they have usually built on the squad they have. They have lost players here and there but keep a continuity which is massively important.
“They’re just trying to keep chipping away at getting closer to Celtic and Rangers, so it’s obviously vitally important to keep hold of your best players at this times.
“They seem to have weathered the storm a wee bit. I imagine they would like to get gate receipts back and hopefully that would steady the ship a bit financially.
“Sam Cosgrove turned down his move and that would probably have been a nice cash injection for the club. They’re probably feeling it like any other club.”
McNaughton left the Dons in 2006 for Cardiff City, before returning to Scotland with Inverness 10 years later where he finished his professional career.
He has been watching the English Premier League and Championship after they got back underway last month and the lack of atmosphere, something which will be present in Scottish grounds next month, has stuck with him.
Another factor supporters will have to bear in mind watching games is the length of lay-off players have had between competitive games. It will have been nearly five months since the Dons’ last game when they kick off against Rangers on August 1.
McNaughton added: “It will be tough going. I noticed in England the first few games were lacking a bit of pace. It will be very similar for the Scottish games.
“There will be teams desperate to get friendlies in and get rid of the ring rust. I can imagine having four months off and coming back is like having a lengthy injury lay-off.
“The one thing I have missed is the atmospheres in stadiums. Games don’t really feel the same with empty stadiums. I imagine it will be a pretty slow process and I’m not sure how it would work.”