Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson has set a minimum target of a top-six finish for the new Premiership season, emphasising the need for consistency after recent fluctuations in performance.
Consistency key after recent struggles
Robinson acknowledged that Aberdeen cannot afford to "keep jumping up and down" after a period that saw them go from Scottish Cup winners to a bottom-six side last season. "First and foremost, we have to be a top six side. We can't keep jumping up and down," he said. "Throughout the last five seasons, we've been in the bottom six. A team of Aberdeen's stature and size, that can't happen."
The Dons kick off their campaign at home to Hearts on Saturday night, having started the Premier Sports Cup with a 100 per cent record. Robinson believes that consistency is vital for European qualification: "You can't get into Europe if you're not in the top six. So, first and foremost, to get in the top six and then you look where we can take it from there."
New signings and European lure
Robinson has brought in a host of new players, including Marius Muller, Dan Happe, Lewis Mayo, Nesta Guinness-Walker, Alexander Briedl, Brad Lyons, Connor Ronan, Tony Yogane, Lewis Smith, Toyosi Olusanya and Ayoub Mouloua. He noted that the prospect of European football is a major draw for many recruits. "I think when you speak to boys who are playing abroad or playing in the English Championship or League One, they don't get the opportunity to play in Europe. So, Scotland as a whole is a really big selling point," he explained.
Robinson also highlighted the club's stature: "Aberdeen football club as a whole, I tell people we were in a relegation battle but we had close to 20,000 every game and it blows them away, the level of the football club and the training facilities."
Pittodrie fortress and style of play
The manager stressed the importance of making Pittodrie a difficult place for opponents. "We have to make Pittodrie a fortress again. We have to make it a place that people don't enjoy coming to," he said. "That's the team, that's the fans, the culture that we create in the team and the energy we create in it."
Robinson vowed that his side will play on the front foot and be a very different proposition from last season. "Aberdeen aren't a team that people come and enjoy playing against and they'll play in front of you all the time," he promised. "We want to play in behind teams. We want to deliver lots of balls into the area. We want to make teams defend."
Hearts finished second last season but go into league business after a Champions League exit and Europa League qualifiers. Robinson expects his new-look squad to challenge for Europe, adding: "Of course, the expectation here is that we should be challenging for Europe every year."
