Having booked a top-six finish with last weekend’s impressive victory over Motherwell, Aberdeen will now hope to really kick-on and try to clinch third place.
If they secure that, there is every possibility it will bring the guarantee of group stage football in either the Europa or Conference Leagues next season – a tangible reward from Jimmy Thelin’s first year in charge.
That scenario will unfold if Celtic lift the Scottish Cup, which they are clear favourites to do.
If there is an upset, the cup winners will instead claim the prize, and Aberdeen, of course, also have that route to target.
The semi-final against Hearts is still a fortnight away. For now, full focus has to be on the last couple of games before the split, Ross County in Dingwall this afternoon and Rangers at Pittodrie a week tomorrow.
Get a reasonable points haul from those two, and Aberdeen can start thinking about the run-in.
If the games work out correctly, they should then have home meetings with Hibernian and Celtic, and trips to Ibrox and Tannadice, assuming Dundee United do what they need to over the next couple of weeks.
The final spot remains up for grabs, with Hearts, St Mirren and Motherwell still in contention.
Whichever side make it, Aberdeen can expect to again be on their travels, having twice hosted each of those teams.
But we all know the SPFL fixture computer does, on occasion, throw out a few anomalies, so, whatever the outcome, we will have to wait for confirmation of the final list.
At least they have made it, which has lifted the pressure a bit, and the players should be feeling more confident and relaxed after the big win last time out.
It was so good to see Kevin Nisbet continue his recent resurgence, and his second against Motherwell was the perfect example of his renewed self-belief, having rediscovered his scoring touch in recent weeks.
That’s him up to 12 now – more than half of those netted in the past eight matches – and it was no surprise to see suggestions the club are looking at making his move permanent. If he continues to show that kind of form, the striker would be an excellent acquisition.
It has been quite a turnaround of late, given the Dons would, I believe, have been open to him returning to Millwall in January had that been an option.
The problem is, the more goals he scores between now and the end of the campaign, the more valuable he becomes, and Aberdeen could even be priced out of the market. It will be an interesting situation to monitor in the coming weeks.
Jimmy will already be thinking about how he needs to strengthen in the summer, and despite a busy winter window, there are likely to be further significant changes.
Oday Dabbagh, Alfie Dorrington and the disappointing Jeppe Okkels all came in on loan, Jamie McGrath is leaving, and a few others are out of contract, so the manager will have plenty room to manoeuvre.
A strong finish and a guaranteed lengthy European run will add to his budget as he looks to enhance the quality at his disposal.
Why mess with an SPFL and Premiership format which works?
The news that the SPFL is considering league reconstruction came as a bolt from the blue and is entirely unnecessary.
Fixture congestion is being flagged-up as a motivating factor, but has been an issue throughout my long career covering the game – and the authorities have always found a way.
Right now we have a set-up which works, and guarantees excitement, drama and heartbreak all the way through to the final 90 minutes across the divisions.
While Celtic, Falkirk and Arbroath are clear favourites to win their respective divisions, of the 42 clubs in the league, only Dumbarton can be sure of their fate as we move towards the run-in.
It is madness to even consider altering a format which has worked so well.
And spare me the pleas for an expanded top-flight! Unless there is a split and multiple play-off places, all that will bring is a series of meaningless games for the last few months of the season.
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