Willie Miller says a desire to be the best team in Europe was the driving force behind Sir Alex Ferguson 's success at Pittodrie.
And the Aberdeen legend remembers him "blasting" his players to get there.
Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the history of football thanks largely to his 27 years at Manchester United.
Before Old Trafford though he made history at Aberdeen, leading the Dons to three league titles and two European trophies - most famously the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
They beat Real Madrid in the final with Miller wearing the captain's armband in Sweden.
And as the Dons get set to honour Ferguson by unveiling a statue of him before their clash with Dundee United at the weekend, Miller remembers the drive to be the very best that made Ferguson tick.
He told Red TV : "He had a fearless determination to be successful.
"You've got to remember, what he achieved at Manchester United was phenomenal, but what he achieved here was sensational.
"You've got to be special to be able to do that. You've got to have the drive, the determination, the courage... then you've got to put all that together.
"You've got to bring a team together in the dressing room that you have to be really strong with and blast them from time to time - quite a lot of times, actually.
"At the end of the day you knew what the goal was and you believed in it. The goal was to be better than Rangers and Celtic, that was the first goal.
"Then it was be better than Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and Hamburg as well - they were the European champions and we managed to beat them.
"It started from fractious beginnings until he got the team in place that he wanted, everybody in the same mindset. Then we took on the Old Firm domestically and took that into Europe.
"That's what I remember of him and what he brought to the club, and how the club was at the time. A sensational time in the history of Aberdeen FC and it was a pleasure to be a part of it."
