Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack believes his side has learned valuable lessons from their unexpected start to the new campaign.
The Dons began the 2015-16 campaign by setting a new club record of eight successive victories – something even Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering teams could not achieve. That rip-roaring start, which gave Derek McInnes’ men a five-point lead at the top of the table, prompted many to tip Aberdeen as title-contenders capable of denying favourites Celtic a fifth consecutive title.
But a painful and equally surprising slump followed with the Dons taking a single point from their next possible 15, allowing Celtic to regain the advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
A run of six matches without a win in all competitions was finally brought to an end with Saturday’s 2-0 victory against bottom of the league Dundee United.
Midfielder Jack in his first season as captain, believes his team-mates will be stronger following the highs and lows experienced during the opening 14 matches.
He said: “There are always lessons to be learned from games. There are always things we can pick up on that we can do better.
“We have been going over things after every game.
“The manager has been showing us the positives and the negatives we can improve on.
“We need to make sure we learn from our bad results and disappointments.”
It has been a demanding start for life as captain for 23-year-old Jack, who has started every game this season except for last month’s 2-0 defeat by Ross County in Dingwall, which was missed due to illness.
The young midfielder is enjoying trying to meet the challenge of leading his hometown team.
And Jack reckons the captain’s duties have been made easier thanks to the experience within the squad, not least the summer additions of Graeme Shinnie, Kenny McLean and Paul Quinn who all experienced being a captain at their former clubs.
He added: “There is a responsibility that if the team is not doing well then people look towards me.
“They maybe want to know why and are looking for answers, but we have experienced players in the team and we are all honest. It is a great squad and everyone realises we have gone through a sticky spell. But we have all been working hard to get back on form.”