Tommie Hoban is enjoying his best run of matches in years and he is determined to make this season with Aberdeen a memorable one.
The former Watford defender has endured two serious knee injuries, the second of which was sustained while on loan at the Dons from the Hornets in February 2019.
Hoban returned to Aberdeen following his release from the Championship club in the summer and played his 18th game of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Ross County.
The 26 year-old is enjoying his run and wants to make the season he returned to regular duty a memorable one.
He said: “I’m delighted as I haven’t had this number of games together in about five years due to injuries.
“I’m feeling good, fitter and stronger the more I play and I’m just trying to keep it going and improve my performances on the pitch.
“If I can help the team and get close to 30 or 40 games that would be brilliant as well.
“I have seen in the past how quickly things can change both positively and negatively. I am just trying to keep my feet on the ground and taking it one game at a time.
“I am just enjoying my football again and I hope to continue that. I just want to kick-start my career and get to the level I hoped I would.
“This season is going really well and I want to finish that with a really good finish.”
Aberdeen are fourth in the Scottish Premiership, but will go level on goal difference with second-placed Celtic if they win at Kilmarnock tomorrow (noon).
With Hibs also in the mix in third place Hoban knows it is all to play for in the second half of the season and hopes to finish 2020 with a flourish to put his side firmly in the fight for second place in 2021.
He said: “The aim is to finish as high as we possibly can every year. It is going to be tough. Celtic haven’t been on the best run recently, but they still have a very good squad and I’m sure they will pick up and finish the season stronger than they’ve started it.
“But we’re definitely confident going into this part of the season.
“We had a very good start and a blip recently which happens through a season, but we’ve got a very good squad this year and, if we can use this December period where a lot of points are up for grabs for us, and get four or five wins, we will be in a good position.
“We had a good result against Celtic at home and felt we could have won that game. The cup match was disappointing, but the three games against them are going to be massive when you see how tight it is.
“We’ve played Hibs twice and have two more games against them as well, so those matches are going to be very important in deciding who gets those second and third spots.”
Hoban believes the reason the fight for second, third and fourth is so close so far is due to how competitive the Premiership has been so far this season.
The emergence of Hibs to challenge the Dons has increased that competitiveness further, but Hoban is relishing the challenge ahead next year.
He said: “There are a lot of games and a lot of points up for grabs.
“It’s very tight between Celtic, Hibs and ourselves. Rangers have got away a bit, but it is a very competitive league this year.
“Teams at the lower end of the league like St Mirren are on a good run themselves and there are teams who probably don’t deserve to be down there.
“They are putting up a real challenge to the teams at the top and it’s a real challenge, but we’re looking to build on Saturday’s result, solidify our position and have a good finish to the season.”