ANDREW CONSIDINE insists the return of Rangers to Scottish football’s top flight next season will be good for the game and claims Aberdeen are primed to put the Ladbrokes Championship winners "in their place".

The Pittodrie defender is proud of his side's efforts in establishing themselves as the country's main challengers to Celtic and has warned Mark Warburton and his players that they are not about to roll over and allow the Old Firm to go back to dominating the title race.

Considine believes Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, has helped restore the respect his club once enjoyed under the leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson and missing during a lean period before his arrival three years ago. He looks forward to hostilities with Rangers recommencing and is confident the Dons can continue to make progress.

"With Rangers coming back in, it is going to be a very hard league next year,” he said. "We are looking forward to it.

"Personally, I think it is a fantastic occasion when Rangers come to Pittodrie or we go to Ibrox.

"You hear a lot of people saying it is great that they are out of the league, but, if you ask others, they would be delighted to have them back.

"I think we will certainly put them in their place when they come back up; we are looking forward to it.

"Bringing back that atmosphere and the Old Firm games is great for Scottish football, too.

"It is like European nights here when Rangers and Celtic come up. It is a great thing to be a part of.”

The 29-year-old, whose father Doug was also an Aberdeen defender before falling out with Ferguson and moving to Dunfermline in 1981, has helped the Reds to the league’s runners-up spot, and with it a place in the Europa League qualifiers, for the second successive season.

They may be 9 points behind the Hoops before this weekend’s set of fixtures, but he believes full credit has not been afforded them for their efforts to push Celtic hard in the title race and he recognised that both sides of the Old Firm would splash the cash on recruiting new faces in preparation for next term’s big challenge.

"You wouldn't expect Celtic to slip up as many times as they did this year,” he said. “You would never imagine that.

"I can imagine they will probably spend money to strengthen with Rangers coming back to the league next year.”

Considine expressed his satisfaction with Aberdeen’s achievements under McInnes, which includes a League Cup triumph two seasons ago.

It offered the squad fresh desire to return to the glory days of the Dons, once the most feared side in the country.

"It has been great for Aberdeen as a club and as a city that we have managed to stay within touching distance of Celtic for a good part of the season,” he added.

"It was similar last season. It has been another cracking season but all we need to do at the moment is get the results we need in the next four games.

"I have always looked at it that back in the days when Fergie was the manager, Aberdeen had a strong team full of internationalists.

"They would go down to Celtic or Rangers and get great results most of the time.

"There was almost that hatred from the Old Firm because they used to do that a lot.

"But I would say the respect went a bit since then because we are still a massive team.

"We have shown over the past couple of years that we can go to places like Celtic and get results and do the same when they come up here.

"We have beaten Celtic twice already this year.

"We have come on leaps and bounds and I would like to think some of the credit we’ve deserved has come back; that we’re a force to be reckoned with again.

"That is something the manager has always wanted.

"It is a good thing to be part of and long may it continue.”