Derek McInnes has told Hibs the real 'best of the rest' challenge is only just beginning.
Jack Ross' side achieved what the former Aberdeen boss made a regular occurrence by being the best side in the Premiership out with Celtic and Rangers.
But that success can come at a price.
McInnes' Dons often had to rebuild each summer and he was no stranger to losing his best players.
He reckons that could be the future for Ross with the likes of Kevin Nisbet, Ryan Porteous and Martin Boyle all linked with other clubs in recent weeks and months.
“To have finished third, it shows the competitiveness of the team," McInnes told the The Scotsman.
“We finished second four times, two of them when Rangers were not in the league. But there seems to be a lot of good going on at Hibs, which is suggested by the fact they are getting to semi-finals and finals and finishing third.
“The prize money for finishing third will help them but the difficulty, and it is the same with any good team, is that there are always players within a squad who are more relevant to the success and the difficulty for Hibs now is trying to hang onto them for as long as possible.
"If they can do that then they will have the opportunity to go and build something.
“But you tend to find that maybe one or two move on and it is then a case of trying to replace like for like.
"That is the challenge for any manager, how you cope with replacing them.
"The likelihood is that it will be difficult to bridge that gap.”
