Niall McGinn believes Aberdeen could have put run together to overtake Motherwell if game hadn't been shutdown

As the weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown dragged on, Niall McGinn came to realise it was inevitable the Premiership could not be completed.

The attacker accepts pulling the plug on the 2019-20 season was the only realistic option and allows focus to switch to safely starting next term.

Aberdeen are hoping to return to training of some form next month.

However, McGinn is still left with a sense of frustration that the shutdown on March 13 came at the point the Dons were hitting form.

He said: “As the weeks and months went on, I think it was just going to be a matter of time until the season came to a close.

“In the current situation, it was inevitable that it was going to happen.

“Now it is done we just have to get on with things.

“It now gives us the opportunity to get ourselves ready for next season.”

When the game went into cold storage Aberdeen were fourth in the Premiership. That would eventually be confirmed as their final league position when the SPFL board ended the term earlier this week.

It was enough to secure European qualification for a seventh consecutive season.

However, the Dons were denied the chance to leapfrog Motherwell into third on March 13, the day of the shutdown, when their clash at Fir Park was cancelled due to the pandemic.

McGinn was confident the Dons could have overtaken Motherwell.

McGinn said: “I felt that we were going to push on and go on a bit of a run.

“That’s why we were looking forward to that Motherwell game so much.

“We went down there earlier in the season and put in a strong performance and came away with a victory (3-0).

“I just felt that the team – with everyone coming back from injuries – was looking strong.

“We were feeling confident after the last game (3-1 defeat of Hibs).

“It feels like a lifetime ago that we were playing Hibs. We just want to get back and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”

Although the Premiership was curtailed, Aberdeen’s bid to win the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1990 remains alive.

They were set to play holders Celtic in the semi-final in April.

Lewis Ferguson celebrates after he makes it 1-0 during the William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final match between St. Mirren and Aberdeen at The Simple Digital Arena on February 29.

The SFA have underlined their commitment to completing the 2019-20 Scottish Cup final next season – ideally in front of fans.

McGinn said: “We’ve qualified for Europe again which is good for the club.

“We’ve hopefully still got a semi-final to play and I don’t think there’s any rush to play that semi-final. We usually come into the Scottish Cup in January so hopefully that still goes ahead when that comes round.”

On seven goals for the season, McGinn’s personal target each campaign of reaching double figures was derailed.

He said: “I was a bit gutted that the season finished because I always challenge myself to get to 10 goals. It took me a while to chip in with a few.”

In Germany, the Bundesliga 1 and 2 resumed at the weekend behind closed doors.

McGinn was impressed at the high tempo and standard of play after so long out.

However, he admits the absence of any supporters made for a strange viewing experience.

He said: “I watched a lot of it.

“I was just happy that I was able to watch live football although it was a wee bit strange and different without the fans.

“From watching it I was quite impressed with how well the players coped.

“I was impressed with the intensity and how good the players were for the first game back after being out for so long.