Beating Celtic was a test of belief. Beating Hamilton will be a test of character.
Aberdeen go in search of their seventh win in a row with a spring in their step tonight as Hamilton visit the league leaders at Pittodrie.
Confidence is a quality not in short supply at the Dons, especially after their remarkable 2-1 win with 10 men against Celtic on Saturday.
But winning as underdogs is one thing; living up to the weight of expectation is another matter entirely and defender Ashton Taylor and his team-mates know it.
He said: “There’s no hiding the fact we have had a fantastic start to the season. To be top of the league at this stage is good but it’s early days and we have to keep playing well and keep up the performances.
“Saturday was hugely important but now we have to put all our focus on to Hamilton and get the right result against them. It will mean, not as much as to beat Celtic, but if we go into the game and get all the three points it will be a whole lot sweeter.
“We have to go and back up the performance we had against Celtic because it is still going to be a tough game.
“It’s a scalp that everyone wants to take by beating the team that’s top. We’re on a winning streak and we want to maintain that and see where it takes us.”
Morale at Pittodrie is sky-high after the six-game winning start to the campaign but Taylor has warned this is not the time to sit back and reflect on a promising opening to the Premiership season.
Manager Derek McInnes may have let his players enjoy their win against the Hoops, who beat his side in all four meetings last season, but it is now a case of getting back to work and focusing on the next challenge.
Taylor said: “It was satisfying but it was just another game to us and it was a big game. It was a great day for us and the supporters to show the progression from last season.
“I don’t mean it was just another game – I mean it was another three points we wanted to take and it was massive for the supporters to see us take the three points against Celtic because we didn’t do that last season.
“It was massive for the players, the belief to push us on.
“We wanted to rectify what we didn’t do last season and we wanted to make progress.
“It’s a great position to be in. The belief in the changing room to go out and get the three points is massive and we’re confident in doing that with the squad of players we have.
“It was a good day but it was just as important as the Hamilton game will be.”