Zander Diamond is still only 22. Since his first appearance as a substitute for Aberdeen four years ago, he had steadily been building a reputation as top-class defender until injuries, disciplinary problems and a loss of confidence blunted his progress.
Many doubters within the Aberdeen support thought his time had gone. However, this afternoon at Easter Road, Diamond will shrug off an Achillies injury to continue his fight to establish himself as first-choice centre-back.
The player thinks the fixtures could have fallen more kindly for Aberdeen as they try to rediscover the form which took them to a third-place finish in the Premierleague last season.
One point from their opening three games is not acceptable, he insists, which is why nothing short of six points from matches against Hibs and at Kilmarnock next week is the target. That said, Hibs, with seven points to their name, will have different ideas.
"We are near the bottom of the table," said Diamond, "but we've just got to get on with it. We have had encouraging spells in the games against Hearts and Celtic. We dominated the champions for 60 minutes, so the performances are starting to come. We just need to put the ball in the net."
"We did so well last season that the bar has been raised and we are expected to do as well, if not better, this season."
One man keen to make it as hard as possible for Aberdeen today is Chris Hogg, and the Hibs defender is determined to play his part in anxious to provide a platform for success at Easter Road.
"If we're keeping them out at the back, we've got chances of picking up points in games," said Hogg. "We're working on it in training and that's two clean sheets in the first three games of the season, so we're happy with that and it's something we want to continue."
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