PITTODRIE legend Willie Miller reckons the next hat-trick of Premiership fixtures will show if Aberdeen have the mettle for a top flight title challenge.
Derek McInnes' side are currently second in the standings after winning their first five league fixtures and are just one point adrift of champions Celtic, who have played a game more.
The Hoops make the trip to the North East when the domestic schedule resumes next weekend for their biggest Premiership clash of the campaign.
It will kick-off a crucial couple of weeks for the Dons as they look to continue their impressive run and set their sights on top spot.
Celtic won all four of the meetings with Aberdeen last term and Miller knows the September 12 showdown is crucial even at this early stage of the season.
He told Ladbrokes: "My old club Aberdeen have had a terrific start to the season but [I] think the next few games will tell us a lot more about the their title credentials.
"After the international break they play Celtic at home, Hamilton at home and then Hearts away and these games will be crucial in shaping Aberdeen’s season.
"There is little doubt that the Dons, and Hearts who have also had a great start, can challenge this year but whether they can actually take the title off Celtic will come down to how they perform in the head-to-head matches.
"If they win some of those games, or at least don’t lose them all as Aberdeen did last year, they will be right up there.
"It’s too early to say they can win the title as they are yet to prove they can beat Celtic but if they beat the Bhoys when the Ladbrokes Premiership resumes then I think it’s fair to say Aberdeen can get there.
"While talk of a title tilt is encouraging, however, the realistic target is to improve on last season and they have done that so far.
"I think the aim is to secure second place again to make sure they have European football next season and then it’s about trying to make a mark on the continent by qualifying for the Europa League. That would be a huge leap forward for the club and one that I’m sure is achievable.
"Celtic have got the biggest and strongest squad and really should take the title with the players they have at their disposal but having said that they’ve had a few leave recently so that will give Aberdeen and Hearts some confidence."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here