By Liam McLeod

Lovell will be a key player for Aberdeen this season

Aberdeen go into the new season with their strongest squad since Jimmy Calderwood arrived at the club three years ago - according to the Dons boss himself.

Last season saw the men in red finish in their highest league position in 11 years as they held off Hearts for third place and, with it, a return to continental football.

In fact, for a lot of the season, the Dons were in with an outside chance of splitting the Old Firm.

Had it not been for Walter Smith's return to Rangers, that may well have happened.

The loss of captain Russell Anderson to English Premier League new boys Sunderland was not exactly a shock given Aberdeen's own piece of defensive granite had been outstanding for them in recent seasons.

However, it was not exactly what Calderwood and the club's supporters wanted to hear.

But, as good and consistant a performer and skipper as Anderson no doubt was for the Dons, a trophy he did not lift.

Scott Severin is now the man aiming to become the first Aberdeen captain to lift silverware since Stewart McKimmie held aloft the League Cup in 1995.

And how the Dons supporters would love that to happen.

The celebrations that greeted the club's return to Europe would be nothing compared to a cup win.

Last season's Aberdeen knock-out participation was blink-and-you'll-miss-it stuff and Calderwood will want that to change.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Are Aberdeen in good shape to do well this season?

So what would be a successful season for Aberdeen Football Club? Do they consolidate their 'best of the rest' tag or kick on and offer a more serious challenge?

The financial restraints that hang over Pittodrie suggest that the former will be the league target.

The atmosphere generated by the 20,000-plus at Pittodrie on the final day of the season as the Dons secured their Euro return after five years against Rangers was a throwback to the good times.

A season of promise lies ahead, with the mouthwatering prospect of only having to negotiate one round to make the group stages of the Uefa Cup an example.

What is required now is for the supporters who turned out for that Rangers match to return regularly.

When the Aberdeen squad numbers are announced, the number 12 is always given to the fans.

For any genuine expectations of grandeur they must back the team in numbers - that was not the case often enough last season.

Calderwood has brought in a few new faces

The fact is, the energy and adrenaline a successful Aberdeen side produces reverberates round the whole city.

When the football club does well, the city thrives.

Another important factor has been the manager.

Supporters must hope that Jimmy Calderwood's Pittodrie future will be secured as the desperate times of Alex Miller and Ebbe Skovdahl must never be revisited.

The club has improved year after year with Calderwood and Jimmy Nicholl at the helm.

New arrivals Jackie McNamara, Lee Mair and Jefferey de Visscher have given the Dons more depth in their squad than in recent times.

Goals, naturally, will also be required and there is a big onus on the likes of Lee Miller and Steve Lovell to deliver.

There will be a new number one as well, with Derek Soutar starting the season ahead of Jamie Langfield.

Whether Soutar has it in him to be a Dons goalkeeper will be tested as early as Tannadice on 4 August, when the action gets underway.

Third place will be expected from the terraces. A cup final victory hoped for.