Goalkeeper Jamie Langfield has seen plenty of false dawns at Aberdeen over the years and knows the current crop at Pittodrie still has a long way to go before it can be hailed a success.
Derek McInnes’s Reds have received plenty of plaudits for what they have achieved so far this season. They sit second in the Premiership and have a League Cup semi-final against St Johnstone and a Scottish Cup fifth-round match at Celtic to come.
The League Cup, in particular, presents a golden chance for the Dons to end a 19-year wait for silverware but Langfield is wary of getting caught up in the hype. He said: “This could be my best season. I have never enjoyed a season so much halfway through as I have this season.
“You need to win things and achieve things but on a personal level I am really enjoying my football. If we can go and achieve something then that will be the icing on the cake.
“However, the manager drums it into us to take it one game at a time. We have not even spoken about St Johnstone or Celtic. All we talk about is Inverness on Saturday.”
The 4-3 defeat by Queen of the South in the 2008 Scottish Cup semi-final still irks Langfield, even though he was only a substitute that day, with Derek Soutar preferred in goal.
Langfield is determined to play a part in helping the Dons to success this season to go some way to erasing the memories of that painful Hampden afternoon for the Red Army.
He added: “We know we have let ourselves down over the years. That is where the manager has been very astute in saying we take each game as it comes. It would be great to win a trophy but you never know what will happen.
“Queen of the South was a prime example. There was maybe some com- placency with the players that day. It doesn’t always happen for you in football. The semi-final will take care of itself.”
Langfield will be aiming to keep his 99th league clean sheet when Caley Thistle visit Pittodrie today – having passed Allan McGregor’s modern-day top flight record with number 96 in the 1-0 win against Ross County last month.
It is only a matter of time before the Aberdeen goalkeeper reaches a century of shutouts but the 34-year-old is quick to praise his team-mates.
He said: “It is great but a lot of that is down to the boys in front of me. They have been outstanding. Jonny Hayes has played left back for the last few games and we have kept three clean sheets. It is something the manager prides himself on and the boys do as well. Hopefully, we can keep adding to that tally.”