RYAN Jack can no longer be regarded as Aberdeen's best-kept secret.

The 22-year-old midfielder, who became a father to little Madison three weeks ago, confirmed his status as the daddy of this promising Pittodrie side when he was named the best player in Scotland for December. Who knows, if he and his club continue to progress at their current rate, he may not even be too far off when the calculations are made to determine the country's best player all season long.

This local lad made good is a model of consistency, blessed with maturity beyond his years. He is content to temper his own attacking instincts to allow others to bomb forward, and boasts the kind of edge to his play which belies Jimmy Calderwood's claim about Aberdonian youngsters being "too nice".

When hardline disciplinarian and Gothenburg legend Archie Knox, then assistant boss to Craig Brown, bawled at Jack following a goalless draw with Hibernian in 2012 he was rather surprised to find a few volleys being aimed back in his direction.

"That is the way I am," says Jack. "I just have that natural bit that I don't get pushed about."

Having been taken along by Gordon Strachan for the journey for the 1-0 win against Croatia in Zagreb in June 2013, full Scotland honours seem only a matter of time, but how long he plays his club football north of the border is rather more uncertain. The likes of Bolton Wanderers and Everton have not been slow to take an interest in his abilities, but the Pittodrie side are correct to regard him as a cornerstone to build around. Jack hinted last night that he could be prepared to extend his contract beyond the summer of 2016, when it is due to expire.

"We've had a lot of games recently so I'm sure when the time does come and the manager does want to talk to me I'm sure he'll let me know about that," said Jack, who shares an affection for Manchester United with his boyhood love for Aberdeen. "I'm very happy here, definitely. I'm loving it at Aberdeen. There's a real buzz about the team at the minute, we have a chance to do really well this season. So I don't see any reason to change anything at the moment. It's good for the team knowing there's going to be that core, that base of players that are staying and tied down. It's good to be a part of that."

Having been part of the epoch-defining 9-0 defeat at Celtic Park on only his sixth senior start, Jack now finds himself ahead of the Parkhead side in the table, with 150 senior appearances to his name. Early adversity or not, his development has more than fulfilled Derek McInnes' long-term plan - one of his first acts as manager was to hand him a long-term contract and confirm that he saw him as a central midfield player rather than a full-back.

"He's way ahead of me, but I don't want him to hear that," says McInnes, who was 24 when he left Morton for Rangers. "Ryan is quite unassuming in his work and we are not here to have people lauding over my players, but it would be naive to think he and others haven't been mentioned. From day one he has brought a level of performance that has been terrific.

"That's why I was so pleased when I heard that he had got the award, not for his own sake because I don't think it's important for him, but just because it's nice to see good players recognised.

"When you work with players, especially in that area of the pitch, you look for that level of trust and ability with and without the ball. I think he makes brilliant decisions and people who know the game appreciate the role he plays."

While Jack has only seven goals to his name in all that time, there may be more to come in that regard. "Maybe sometimes he's not eye-catching in terms of his goal return, but I actually think he can do that side of the game," said McInnes, who was also named Manager of the Month.

"But if you've got [Jonny] Hayes, [Niall] McGinn, [Peter] Pawlett, [David] Goodwillie and [Adam] Rooney ahead of you there has to be some sort restraint. There's a lot of individual goal threats in our team, but he knits everything together for me."

In the rare position now of being regarded as a cast-iron, every-week starter, unsurprisingly his manager too hopes Jack can be persuaded to hang around for the long term, especially now he has young family to take care of. "He is really happy and content here and is enjoying his football," said McInnes. "There is a maturity off the pitch with what he is having to deal with and his life is changing. But he has never allowed those distractions or change in circumstances to affect what he has done on the pitch.

"I recognise and I think Ryan does that at some point he will move on and we want him to do that on the back of playing 300 games for us and having won trophies. I do believe he will go on to have a top career, but we want him to leave his mark on his time here and for me that time isn't now. He's happy here, we are happy with him and we would be happy for that to continue."

Whatever happens, Jack seems unlikely to get carried away. He brushes away his international ambitions, and pays tribute to the efforts of his team-mates for taking the club, prior to yesterday, to seven successive league wins, all without conceding a goal. "It is not just me that has been doing consistently well, it has been a real team effort on the clean sheet side of it," he said. "Just the same as creating a chance, I get a buzz out of stopping a chance and this team keeping a clean sheet.

"The international side of it just comes if you are doing really well. I was there in Croatia for the 1-0 game, I saw how it works and that did a lot for me as well."

Even fatherhood has been taken in his stride. "That has been a good experience for me as well," he said. "It is all good. Sleeping is not an issue, away games we stay away overnight, and when we play at home we have got a spare room so it is fine."