Pittodrie assistant Steve Agnew insists he and boss Barry Robson relish the pressure of ensuring Aberdeen compete at the top end of the Premiership.
The Dons entered the top-flight winter break languishing eighth in the league table.
However, Agnew says the management team are confident they will oversee a rise up the Premiership in the second half of the season.
And he reckons they will accomplish “what we want to achieve” this term.
Agnew accepts the lowly bottom-six league position will bring pressure and criticism because Aberdeen are a “huge club” with expectations.
He understands the pressure to deliver results, having been No.2 at Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and West Brom.
But Agnew says he and Robson can handle the heat.
Agnew said: “I have been in football a long time and at a lot of big clubs.
“When you are involved as a manager or coach at a big club, you have to accept that comes with pressure and expectation. That is something you have got to handle.
“Aberdeen is a huge club in Scotland and we know that.
“Barry and us as coaching staff are all confident we can achieve what we want to achieve this season.
“The most difficult part in management is coming out the other end.
“That’s what we will do.”
‘Consistency in the league is needed’
Aberdeen went in to the winter shut-down on a high, buoyed by an impressive 3-0 win over Ross County in Dingwall.
However, only four days earlier, Robson and his team were booed off the Pittodrie pitch after a 3-0 loss to St Mirren.
The Dons have won just six of 18 Premiership games and trail third-placed Hearts by 14 points.
Aberdeen do, however, have three games in hand on the Tynecastle club.
Agnew said: “We relish the challenge of actually being at the top end of the league and competing there.
“We have games in hand on some of the teams above us.
“Okay, we have to win them. But we are in a confident mood that we are capable of winning those games.
“With our league form, we have had some good performances, but also setbacks.
“So that consistency in the league is needed.
“It is one game at a time.”
Frustration at Europa Conference League points return
Aberdeen’s league campaign was impacted by the demands of competing in Europe.
The Dons failed to qualify from the group stages, finishing third in Europa Conference League Group G with six points from six games.
They only lost twice, to Eintracht Frankfurt (2-1) and PAOK (3-2).
Aberdeen were 2-0 up against eventual group winners PAOK at Pittodrie with 17 minutes to go, but still lost.
A first group stage campaign since 2007 concluded with a 2-0 home victory over German giants Eintracht Frankfurt.
Agnew said: “In Europe, we never got the rewards we thought we should have had.
“There were games where we should have got more points than we did.”
‘It was a phone call I didn’t expect’
Agnew was caretaker manager at Middlesbrough in the English top-flight for 11 games in 2017 until the end of the season.
Robson previously worked under Agnew at Middlesbrough when the 58-year-old coach was assistant to Aberdeen legend Gordon Strachan.
Agnew’s previous post prior to moving to Pittodrie was as assistant head coach to Steve Bruce at West Bromwich Albion.
However, he left that role when Bruce was sacked in October 2022.
When Robson was initially appointed interim boss at Aberdeen, his first act was to phone Agnew to ask him to be his assistant.
That was in late January 2023 following the sacking of Jim Goodwin.
Within two months, the duo had orchestrated a Premiership revival and were rewarded with the jobs permanently.
Robson and Agnew led the Dons from the bottom six to a third-placed Premiership finish and European group stage qualification last season.
The challenge is to do that again this term.
Agnew, 58, said: “It was a phone call I didn’t expect, I have to say that.
“I was on a flight and here in Aberdeen in no time.
“Football is a fast-moving environment, and once you get in you are off and running.
“Then before you know it we have done okay, finished the season and are then looking forward to the next season.”
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