Mark Reynolds is determined to show Celtic Aberdeen can be a force to be reckoned with next season when they welcome the Glasgow side to Pittodrie today. The Dons' defeat by Dundee United last weekend handed Celtic the Scottish Premiership title with three games to play. But Aberdeen are only two points worse off than Celtic from games against the rest of the league - with three defeats to the Glasgow club proving costly.
Reynolds said: "Aberdeen v Celtic is always a massive game and it is great to still be involved in massive games at this time of the season. We would obviously have preferred for the match to still be meaningful but it was not to be. But both teams will be wanting to go out and win the three points. Both teams will want to set a marker for different reasons. Celtic will want to show why they are champions and they will want to do it in style so we know they will be at their best on Sunday. We have to go out and show that our season is not finished and that we are still wanting to win games. We are keen this weekend to show people that we are in this for the long haul. We want to push Celtic again next season. We have to keep grinding out results - that is what Celtic have done and why they are deservedly the champions. We are looking to keep improving and that starts on Sunday. Both teams will want to set a marker for next season."
Aberdeen pushed Celtic until the final month of the season despite being without captain Russell Anderson for the vast majority of the campaign after he suffered a knee injury in August. But Reynolds believes Anderson will still be a major loss to the playing squad after announcing he will retire and take up a commercial role within the club. The centre-back said: "Russell is going to be missed massively. His nickname was 'Mr Aberdeen' and he encompasses everything about the club. It makes sense for him to step upstairs and for the club to keep that influence. Apart from this season his return to Aberdeen has been a bit of a dream for him. The club has been on an up and he has been an integral part of that. 'I have learned lots off Russell and I am sure most of the other boys would say the same thing. Although this season he has not featured as much as he would have liked on the park, his influence behind the scenes and his influence in the changing room has still been there."
Ronny Deila wants Celtic to demonstrate just why they are the champions. Celtic have beaten Derek McInnes' side in their previous three encounters this season and Deila is looking for the fourth to show his side's championship win was thoroughly deserved. The Parkhead manager said: "This is a big, big game. We want to finish the season by winning our three league games. We want to show we are the best team in Scotland. Aberdeen haven't beaten us this season and we want to continue that. Aberdeen have done very, very well and they should be very proud. They were very close (to us) in the middle part of the season. But we have been very consistent since Christmas. We lost five points - one draw and one defeat - and they couldn't cope with that. So although they have pushed us I think we deserved to win. 'The players are looking forward to the game. I want to see energy and hopefully we will win."
In his first season as Celtic manager, Deila was pleased to add the league title to the Scottish League Cup which was captured in March with a 2-0 win over Dundee United at Hampden Park. The Norwegian, however, insists his initial success has only served to whet the appetite. He said: "It's a good feeling that we have won the league. Everybody expected it. You don't get a lot of recognition when you win the league at Celtic. Everybody says you should win it by 30 points and every other team is bad but it has to be done and we want to do it in a certain way as well. We have shown that we are about development and creating an attacking team and that we want to win trophies. So far we have done that and that makes me proud and also very, very hungry to keep on driving this team and this club forward."