Andrew Considine feels Aberdeen have come full circle to having as strong a squad as they have ever had during his 400 appearances for the club.
The defender reached the landmark during last Saturday’s victory over Ross County, which saw Stevie May make his debut alongside summer signings such as Ryan Christie, Gary Mackay-Steven and Greg Stewart.
Considine played with the likes of Russell Anderson, Scott Severin, Barry Nicholson and Lee Miller during his early years and helped the Dons reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup, where they held Bayern Munich at Pittodrie.
And he feels as optimistic as ever as Derek McInnes’ side look to continue their 100 per cent start to the Ladbrokes Premiership season against Dundee.
The 30-year-old said: “The squad we had when Jimmy Calderwood was here when we got into Europe, just before our run in Europe, was very strong. We had a number of internatlonalists in our squad at the time, Scottish internationalists. It was a very, very strong squad.
“But we have almost built it back up again. We had a couple of crazy years but the manager has come in and done very well and built up probably much and such the same kind of squad. There is a lot of experience and some great youth in the squad.
“I would say it’s definitely up there with one of the strongest I have been involved in.”
On his own achievement, the versatile defender added: “It’s an absolute honour to be in amongst such names as Bobby Clark, Jim Leighton, Willie Miller, Alex McLeish, Russell Anderson. It’s fantastic.
“As a young boy to think I’d have reached this kind of milestone and be up there with those kind of names, it’s a dream come true.”
Considine has been thinking a lot about Calderwood this week after the 62-year-old former Pittodrie manager revealed he had been diagnosed with young onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
“It’s an awful thing,” Considine said. “My thoughts go out to him and his family.
“I played a lot of my early days under Jimmy so I have a lot to thank him for. I hope he’s getting well looked after and he is doing all right.”
Jack Hendry reckons Dundee need to shake off their shackles if they are to arrest their early season slump.
The Dens Park outfit have opened the new Ladbrokes Premiership campaign with two deflating defeats against Ross County and Hamilton.
Neil McCann’s men have, however, given a glimpse of what they are capable of when they cast off their cares.
Last week’s Betfred Cup win over city rivals Dundee United was an example of the free-flowing football the Dark Blues can produce when they allow themselves to relax.
Now former Partick Thistle and Wigan defender Hendry reckons his side need to take a similarly laid-back attitude.
He said: “I feel we have to take the approach where we just need to go out and play with a freedom, no matter who we are playing.
“Every game in this league is going to be tough, so we just need to go out and believe in out ability and be confident.
“The fans got a glimpse of that during the Dundee United game.
“We just need to approach it like every game is winnable and then try to perform to our best.
“Obviously there will be some things we will work on to stop Aberdeen as they are a good side, so we will look into them a little.
“But I feel if we can turn up on the day we will have a real good chance as we have some really good players in this squad.
“Pittodrie is always a good place to play at and I’m sure it will be a good atmosphere. If we can get a result, it will be a good confidence booster for the lads after coming off the back of those two defeats.”