Andrew Considine will pull on the Aberdeen strip at Tannadice today to celebrate his 300th appearance for the only club for whom he ever wanted to play.

And the 28-year-old, in his testimonial year, will endeavour to send a message to Graeme Shinnie, the talented Inverness Caledonian Thistle left-back and imminent Pittodrie arrival, that he will have to battle hard to replace him in the Aberdeen defence next season.

Considine has been outstanding under manager Derek McInnes and has settled-in at left-back in recent years, despite being signed as a centre-half. He was a member of the League Cup-winning team last season and believes that more silverware - and perhaps even a Premiership title win - could follow. Which is why he is reticent to allow Shinnie a clear run into the team.

He said: "I used to watch Aberdeen as a kid with my dad [Doug, also a former left-back for the club] and I remember being at the 1995 Coca Cola League Cup Final at the old Hampden. It was a cracking occasion.

"We wouldn't have believed that day that it would be so long until we won a cup again. But even watching Aberdeen that day, I never dreamt of pulling on a red jersey, which is something special.

"Now, to have a winners' medal is something special and there are plenty more years left for me to win a few more.

"Winning the League Cup last season has been the highlight of my career and it would be nice to get a Scottish Cup winners' medal. We always seem to fail in that competition.

"The way Scottish football is today, you see a lot of young boys heading down south and they don't really have a chance of winning silverware.

"I know that at Aberdeen, with the squad we have and the way we're playing and the boys we'll bring in next season, that winning another trophy won't be far away.

"Since the gaffer has come in everybody has developed at Pittodrie over the last two seasons and I can see us improving even more.

"Top players like Jonny Hayes, Adam Rooney and Niall McGinn have been tied down on extended contracts and keeping them and others at the club is essential.

"We also have Graeme Shinnie joining in the summer. So, with all of that the future's bright.

"Graeme will provide competition for me at left-back and that's something you need in every position.

"I'm looking forward to the competition I'll face from him. I haven't downed tools just yet. I'll be giving it my best shot."

Considine reckons that, with Aberdeen continuing to build under McInnes, the Premiership will become even tighter than it has been this season and that the stronger Aberdeen become, the greater the chance of winning the title in forthcoming years.

"People always write-off teams other than Celtic in the race for the league title," he said, "but it shows how well we've done this season by the way we've kept so close to them.

"We've quietly kept ourselves to ourselves and gone game by game and we've managed to be within touching distance of Celtic. It's great for Scottish football to have that and it's healthy for the game.

"The strength of our squad has shown that and I believe that with the strength of our squad we can really challenge Celtic for the top spot in the years to come."

Meanwhile, Ryan McGowan is adamant that Dundee United are ready to fulfil their European dream as payback to their suffering supporters. United are currently in fourth place and are still in the hunt for a European slot. McGowan and his team-mates know that third place would see them accomplish their aim.

It's been tough times of late for the Tannadice club, who have won only three of their past fourteen games since the joint-sale of key players Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven to Celtic at the end of the January transfer window.

McGowan said: "As a squad of players, the responsibility is ours to go out and achieve our objectives. The management can only do so much.

"We have to be ready to get out there on the pitch and play well enough to secure European football. We want to do it primarily for our fans because they are the ones who have really suffered through our poor results over recent weeks."