Derek McInnes has been as persuasive as he has been busy in the past two or three weeks, convincing four of his leading players - Niall McGinn, Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes and Andrew Considine - that the right thing to do was to extend their current contracts and continue to be part of the Pittodrie revolution.

Now, a fifth key member of his team, Ash Taylor, has been convinced by the Aberdeen manager that he, too, should remain in the Granite City, at least until the summer of 2017, a move that will not have gone unnoticed at Celtic Park where Ronny Deila will see McInnes's men as serious contenders for the Premiership title.

While waxing lyrical over the attributes of the centre-back he brought from Merseyside in the summer, McInnes also went a little way towards suggesting that - thanks to the player's Scottish grandparents on his father's side - the national team could do worse than turn to him as some might argue that we are not particularly well served in that position.

"It's brilliant news that Ash has decided to stay for longer with us," he said.

"Although we've signed a lot of players on extended contracts, we shouldn't get too blasé about it.

"Ash has been a very good signing and we were always confident he would go on and prove what he has shown.

"In the past two months he has been as good as anything out there. He gives us presence and is a good talker.

"He has good leadership qualities and I think he's only going to get better and better, and for at least the next two years, he's going to do that in an Aberdeen shirt.

"He loves being an Aberdeen player and playing his part in a winning team - he is someone we can build the team around.

"I spoke to him in the summer and we weren't entirely sure we'd manage to get him here to be honest.

"There were other clubs interested but we sold him the club and he knew he'd have to fight his way into an established side.

"Russell Anderson was outstanding for us last season, but with his injuries, it has allowed Ash to become established, and like any good player, he's keen to prove his worth to the manager, his team-mates and the fans."

McInnes is pleased at how Taylor dominates opponents and delighted, too, about the qualities he brings to a Dons side eager to make it nine wins in a row against Dundee at Pittodrie tomorrow.

He said: "He has pace, he can score goals, he uses the ball very well and he keeps striving for those perfect performances.

"I know how highly he is thought of back at Tranmere and there were a few English Championship clubs interested in taking him.

"I don't think he was convinced he'd be a regular at some of the clubs who were courting him before he joined us.

"He saw this as the next step in his career and signing an extension to his deal shows how happy he is here."

McInnes stressed that he had no wish to tell Strachan who he should include in his squads, but Taylor's performances will surely make the national team boss sit up and take notice, especially as Scotland is not over-endowed with quality centre-backs.

He said: "That's not my decisions, but who knows?

"I'm sure the Scotland manager is well aware of a few players potentially at my club.

"There are ones who could come in and do well for the country but he has an established squad doing well at the minute.

"He has been very loyal but there are a few maybe making him think and Ash might be one of them.

"I'm always reluctant to say too much on that, to be honest, as it's not my call and I wouldn't want anyone telling me how to manage my team.

"But Ash is only going to get better and he has shown a real level of consistency so that question would need to be answered elsewhere."

McInnes revealed that Anderson, out for more than five months following knee surgery and following injuries, is having difficulty over his fight and potential return to the side.

He said: "He's having a real tough time with setbacks here and there but we feel he's starting to win his battles.

"Hopefully, he's come to the end of that period but he has little set-backs along the way.

"He wants to be back on the pitch and we're doing all we can to help him."