The goals are flowing and defensively they are looking much stronger but Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin insists there is still room for improvement from his side.
The Dons, who laboured to a 10th place finish in the Scottish Premiership last season, have made an encouraging start to the new campaign.
They are fourth in the league and through to the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup where they have a home tie against Championship side Partick Thistle in the quarter-final.
But Goodwin still wants more from his squad.
The Dons boss said: “I was going through the numbers yesterday and analysing Tuesday’s game against Annan and I’m still not satisfied with where we are at.
“We are doing okay. We’ve picked up some very good results but I do still think there’s so much improvement to be had.”
Dons boss pleased by offensive and defensive improvement
Goodwin believes there is cause for optimism after seeing his side score in nine out of the 10 games they have played in all competition so far.
He insists the fact the goals, which were hard to come by last term, have come in impressive numbers so far augurs well from a team which is very much in its infancy.
He said: “It is a very new squad – I think there are 11 new players.
“They’ve gelled together probably a little bit better than I had anticipated but I still think there’s so much more to come from the group.
“But I’m saying that and then I look at the numbers and we’ve played 10 games and scored 28 goals in all competitions.
“We’ve conceded seven and of those there have been three corners and a penalty which for me are very avoidable.
“When I look at it from that aspect I think we’re not doing too bad at all – we’re in the quarter-final of the League Cup, are sitting fourth in the table, have scored 28 goals and have been quite an entertaining team up to now.
“But I still think there are parts of our game that we need to scrub up on. The shape of the team needs to be better at times.
“Particularly in transitions, I feel we’re getting hit on the counter too often.
“But I’ve got to credit the group as what gives the most optimism and hope is the fact we’re still a young, new group still getting to know each other.
“If we can improve on 28 goals in 10 games then happy days.”
Annan win should have been more convincing
Aberdeen may be one game away from a cup semi-final at Hampden but they made hard work of reaching the quarter-final after being taken to extra-time by Annan Athletic on Tuesday.
The Dons conceded a late equaliser but managed to score three times in the additional 30 minutes to win the tie.
Goodwin is frustrated his side needed 120 minutes to beat their League 2 opponents.
He said: “We knew going to Annan it was going to be a tough test. I don’t want to make any excuses. I thought they were really good and Peter Murphy’s game plan on the night was excellent.
“But it’s very difficult when you go down to these artificial pitches that are so tight and narrow. Annan sit with 11 men behind the ball and it’s difficult to break them down and unfortunately we couldn’t come up with the answers.
“That sounds like I’m making excuses. I’m not. We should have enough in the locker to go and win the game more convincingly than we did.
“We conceded from a set play was which very disappointing but the reaction in extra time was excellent and the impact the subs made coming on was exactly what was needed and we scored some very good goals in the end.
“So it’s a real positive. I’m not focusing on the negatives about how cagey the game ended up being.
“At the end of the day we’re in the quarter final of the League Cup which is exactly where we wanted to be before the game and we scored some decent goals to make it three wins on the spin and there’s plenty more to come from the group.”
Partick await in cup quarter-final but focus now on Ross County
Ian McCall’s Partick will make the trip to Pittodrie for the quarter-final on October 18 or 19 and Goodwin is pleased to have home advantage.
He said: “You are in the lap of the Gods in terms of what you’re going to get in the draw. But it’s one of the more favourable draws.
“I don’t want to say we were all jumping about the place, that would be disrespectful to Partick Thistle, but you want a home tie and thereafter see what you get.
“It’s a decent draw I suppose from our point of view.”
For now, cup football can wait, however, as the Dons’ focus switches back to league duty and Saturday’s game at Ross County.
Hayden Coulson, who missed the win at Annan, returns to the squad for the trip to Dingwall.
Goodwin said: “Everyone came through Tuesday’s game unscathed and Hayden was back training today so apart from Connor Barron and Cal Roberts we should be pretty much full strength.
“We’re hoping Connor will be back training in a fortnight but realistically it will probably be early October before he will be able to be considered for selection in the starting 11 because of the length of time he has been out.
“He’ll be back doing a mini pre-season almost to get his fitness levels back and we have to be careful we don’t put too much pressure on him and cause a recurrence of the injury.
“Cal will be a little bit longer. It will probably be after the winter break I’d imagine before we see him back.”
