Aberdeen set for record but can Derek McInnes finish what he started?

Boss Derek McInnes is on the brink of a historical points tally with the Dons.

Aberdeen’s day of destiny isn’t the one they spent months fighting for.

The Dons’ defeat to Dundee United last weekend finally extinguished their hopes of capturing the Premiership title.

Yet should Derek McInnes’ side pick up even a single point against the newly-crowned champions at Pittodrie this afternoon, they will complete a remarkable achievement.

It would ensure they finish the season with more points than any club outside Rangers and Celtic has amassed since three points for a win was introduced to Scotland’s top flight in 1994-95.

As things stand, they are level with the Hearts side of 2005-06, back when Vladimir Romanov’s spending was at its most profligate.

They finished runners-up to Celtic, a placing that, while not matching the scale of Vlad’s vaunting ambition, still made them the first non-Old Firm team to break into the top two since 1995.

Aberdeen have already ticked that box this season.

Their victory over Inverness Caley Thistle at the end of April guaranteed they would finish best of the rest for the first time in 21 years.

Of course, context is everything.

The Dons fans who watched Willie Miller’s team end the campaign three points behind Rangers in 1993-94 could scarcely have imagined the next time their team finished in the top two, their Govan rivals would be playing in a different league.

When the Light Blues went into financial meltdown three years ago and re-emerged at the foot of the lower leagues, it was clear there was going to be a vacuum at the top of the Scottish game for three years at least.

Yet even accounting for the absence of the Ibrox club, Hearts who have also had huge financial issues to deal with and Hibs, Aberdeen’s League form this season has been exceptional.

To win week after week the way they have done has been a terrific effort.

It is the results in the head-to-head matches against Celtic, where they have failed to play above themselves, which has cost them the title.

It hasn’t been rocket science.

Handed a bigger budget than all other bosses outside the Old Firm, McInnes has used his advantage to quietly build up a squad with more quality and greater depth than any of the others.

And the bad news for their rivals is that all indications are the Dons will be even stronger next year.

The addition from Inverness of Graeme Shinnie, a classy, cultured defender who is particularly impressive going forward, will give the team a better balance.

With Shay Logan backing up attacks on the right and Shinnie on the other, the Dons will have potent attacking options against opponents who opt to sit in.

The bonus is that in recruiting the 23-year-old Aberdonian under freedom of contract, they have robbed Caley Thistle of their captain and, arguably, best player this season.

It might not have been as bold a statement as the £300,000 mid-season buy of Kenny McLean from St Mirren, but it looks equally shrewd.

The problem for McLean, also 23, is the one that faces the even younger title-winning stars of the Under-20 Development League.

How do you break into a team as solid and as settled as Aberdeen’s?

Lawrence Shankland scored 31 goals for the young Dons and, at 19 years old, is seen as a striker of exciting potential.

Yet with the manager’s liking for 4-5-1 and Adam Rooney, the Premiership’s top scorer last season, the first name on the teamsheet, his opportunities are likely to be limited to the occasional appearance from the substitutes bench.

While David Goodwillie and Peter Pawlett can likewise expect to be behind first-choice picks Rooney and Niall McGinn, the situation is much tougher when you move further back.

Shinnie is arriving and the manager is also keen to bring Donervon Daniels, who impressed in a loan spell from West Brom, back to Pittodrie on a more permanent basis.

A new goalkeeper is also occupying McInnes’ thinking.

With Ash Taylor, Andrew Considine and Mark Reynolds all already on the premises, clearly there are going to be some disappointed people about.

McInnes’ policy of recruiting players who are fit for purpose, many who have already tried their luck in England and come back, has left Aberdeen largely secure against raiders from south of the border.

Largely.

Ryan Jack, whose defensive discipline provides the Dons’ anchor, has only a year of his current deal left to run and is stalling on putting pen to paper on an extension.

At 23 and as yet untested outside Scotland, he is an obvious target for an English Championship or even lower Premier League club in the summer.

Even then, the likely £1m fee his transfer would bring would represent a decent return and one which would give the manager the opportunity to try to chip away at closing in on the one big obstacle that will remain in their path.

Celtic.