Midfielder Ylber Ramadani has warned Aberdeen are back on track after a nightmare slump and ready to chase down Hearts.
And the Albanian international reckons the Red Army can be key in re-igniting the bid to finish third in the Premiership.
Back in form under interim boss Barry Robson, the Dons host third-placed Hearts at Pittodrie on Saturday.
A win on Saturday would move Aberdeen to within four points of the Tynecastle club.
Resurrecting a fight for third seemed highly unlikely in January when the Reds were humiliated 5-0 by Hearts in Edinburgh.
Within little more than a week of the Tynecastle humbling, the Reds would also crash out of the Scottish Cup to sixth-tier Darvel and lose 6-0 at Hibs.
Aberdeen back in form
The axe fell on Jim Goodwin as manager straight after the Hibs hammering at Easter Road.
Ramadani insists the Reds have emerged from those dark days and are a far different proposition to the side that lost 5-0 at Hearts.
And they are ready to reignite the race for third.
The 26-year-old said: “This is a great opportunity to close the gap on Hearts.
“We had a terrible run, but now we are back and are going into every game looking for a win.
“That is the mentality of Aberdeen football club.
“We have to improve with every game and that is the case when we are playing Hearts.”
Red Army can make a difference
Aberdeen were backed by a 3,000-strong travelling support at Tannadice two weekends ago as they secured a 3-1 win.
It was the Reds’ first Premiership away victory since October last year.
Ramadani reckons the vocal backing of the travelling support was a fundamental factor in the long-awaited away win.
He is confident Reds’ fans at Pittodrie this weekend will play a similarly key role in the bid to slash the gap on Hearts.
The midfielder said: “Our fans against Dundee United were so good.
“Now we will have our home fans behind us for the game with Hearts.
“And we will be going out to take the opportunity to get three points.”
Signed on a £100,000 deal from Hungarian club MTK Budapest last summer Ramadani has been a regular first team starter.
He has started 40 games in all competitions this season – with no appearances off the bench.
‘We continue to believe until the end’
Aberdeen’s hunt for a new manager continues since Goodwin was sacked on January 28.
Under interim boss Robson, the Reds have won three of the last four Premiership games.
Meanwhile, Ramadani is set to face Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski on international duty later this month.
Capped 23 times, the midfielder is expected to be named in Albania’s squad to face Poland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Monday, March 27.
The game will be played in Warsaw, Poland.
Before then, however, Ramadani is fully focused on blowing the race to finish third in the Premiership wide open.
He reckons the revived Aberdeen are now a different proposition from two months ago due to a new mentality.
Ramadani said: “When it got to 1-1 at Dundee United after they equalised, we kept believing.
“That is the team spirit now – that we will continue to believe until the end.
“We have that mentality now with players like (Graeme) Shinnie.”
Finally ending away day troubles
The win at Dundee United ended Aberdeen’s worst away league form in more than 20 years.
Prior to the Tannadice clash, the Reds had lost each of their last seven away league outings, their longest such run since October 1999.
Ramadani said: “It had been a long time since we won on the road, so I was happy that we could get the win at Dundee United.
“They are fighting against relegation, but we managed to play our football and style.
“It was difficult, but in the second half the manager (Robson) told us to push on and we did.
“We believed in the second half and got the win.”
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