Aberdeen Captain Shinnie Stresses Sustained Effort Following Strong Start

Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie has stressed the importance of maintaining momentum, cautioning his team that “Nothing has been achieved” despite their strong performance. He urged them to keep their “foot firmly on the gas.” The Dons remain undefeated this season, having extended their unbeaten streak to 16 matches with a 2-1 victory over Rangers at Pittodrie on Wednesday. This result places Jimmy Thelin’s team level on points with Celtic, the current Scottish Premiership leaders and defending champions. Aberdeen is scheduled to face Celtic in Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final. Shinnie, 33, commented, “You get praise for doing well but at this stage of the season nothing has been achieved.” He acknowledged their strong start and current standing as desirable but emphasized, “It is obviously where we want to be and we have had a great start but there is a long way to go and even if you look at the league table, I am not sure it is going to finish the way it is now.” He further predicted shifts in standings, stating, “Teams will move about. The two Edinburgh teams are at the bottom – I would expect them to pick up so it will change as we go on.” He added, “Once you get to the more business end of the season then you can start looking at that kind of stuff. We are fully focused on winning games and that is what we have been doing.” Since his arrival in the summer, manager Thelin has consistently adopted a level-headed approach, emphasizing a “one game at a time” philosophy. The question arises whether the seasoned Shinnie plays a role in keeping the younger squad members grounded amidst their impressive streak of 15 victories and one draw. The midfielder elaborated, “It is a hard one, it is letting them have that little bit of excitement because it is good and we are in a good place so it is about enjoying that but it is also about keeping our foot on the pedal because nothing has been achieved.” He continued, “It is about trying to continue what we are doing, trying to continue to get better. We are still reasonably early in the manager’s era, so we are still learning as we go.” Shinnie concluded, “It is enjoying it while we are at it because winning games is enjoyable but on top of that it is keeping right on top of it and keeping our foot firmly on the gas.” Nine years prior, Shinnie secured the Scottish Cup with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Achieving silverware with Aberdeen continues to be “a massive ambition” for him. Regarding the upcoming match against Celtic, he stated, “We know the challenge at hand.” He added, “We know Celtic will be confident as well so we are trying to focus on ourselves and do the things that have gone well for us.” Shinnie expressed confidence, saying, “Anything can happen in a cup game. We will be focused and ready to go.”