Aberdeen's five contract rebels, holding out for improved offers, have been warned no more money will be put on the table to keep them at Pittodrie, even if they help the club beat FC Copenhagen in Thursday night's Uefa Cup game to go through to the knock-out stages of the competition.
Willie Miller, the club's director of football, said last night that any additional funds generated by continuing in the tournament into 2008 would be used to bring in one or two new faces next month rather than to improve the offers made to the five - Jamie Langfield, Zander Diamond, Barry Nicholson, Chris Clark and Michael Hart - whose deals expire at the end of the season.
"I would like this concluded as quickly as possible," said Miller. "They are sensible deals offering long-term security at a club that is going places.
"Reaching the UEFA Cup knock-out phase could generate extra revenue but any money made will be redirected towards strengthening the team by bringing in one or two new faces in January.
"It will not be used to offer improved deals to the players out of contract in the summer."
Aberdeen need full points at Pittodrie against Copenhagen in order to emerge from Group B, and after Saturday's 3-0 thrashing at Motherwell, Jimmy Calderwood, the club's manager, is concerned his side's inconsistency could end up blighting their season.
Calderwood yesterday bemoaned the continuing individual errors displayed by too many of his players this season, not only in defence but throughout the side.
Only Derek Young, an injury victim at Fir Park, remains a doubt for Thursday's match, Calderwood revealed as he pointed to his side's psychological deficiencies.
"Derek's hamstring injury is the only damage," he said, "apart from the damage between the ears. It is psychological damage, big time, and it is something we've had all season. It's never really left us.
"It is down to individual mistakes. In two of the goals we lost at Motherwell there were two or three mistakes leading up to them."
The Pittodrie coach was at a loss to explain his players' recurring problem this season, inconsistency, brought about by poor concentration and bad mistakes.
"It wouldn't be fair to blame the defence or the goalkeeper," he insisted, "It starts up front with the two strikers getting in the right positions and doing a job defensively. The midfielders then have to try and amend the situation.
"I think the phenomenon is that you've had a little success and you think you might be better than you are."
Calderwood has been boosted by the return of Jamie Smith and Jeffrey de Visscher after injury but he was adamant his players should not need any special motivation for Thursday's game.
"You don't need to lift the players," he said. "This is the biggest game of their careers and the biggest one of my career.
"If you can't lift yourself for that you may as well jack the game in. The Aberdeen supporters have been looking ahead to this game for some time and the excitement is there.
"We have to sort things out and I'm sure we will. It's a case of getting the continuity in the back four. We have been struggling there all season for different reasons but we have shown we can produce good form in defence."
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