Burnley a ‘big ask for Aberdeen’
DEREK McINNES admits Aberdeen will be ‘big underdogs’ after drawing Premier League overachievers Burnley in the Europa League second qualifying round. Sean Dyche’s side, who finished seventh in the English top flight, will travel to Pittodrie on July 26, with the second leg to be held at Turf Moor on August 2. Under McInnes, Aberdeen have reached at least the final qualifiers ahead of the group stage in each of the four seasons they have taken part. There have been memorable wins against Dutch side Groningen and Rijeka of Croatia along the way but, up against the Clarets, they face arguably their toughest challenge
yet. McInnes said: ‘It’s a fantastic draw. We’ll be playing against a team that has done exceptionally well in what is regarded as the best league in the world. ‘It should be a fabulous contest. ‘There are favourites in every tie and they’re seeded for a good reason.
‘We know we’ll be big underdogs for this one but, rest assured, we’ll be doing all we possibly can to cause an upset.
‘There will be a terrific atmosphere at Pittodrie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a sell-out.’
Burnley boss Dyche insisted his men would be looking forward to their first European encounter for just over half a century.
Dyche said: ‘Everyone knows it could have been anything, looking at the draw with the amount of different teams from different countries involved.
‘And lo and behold we get someone just up the road. But we’ve worked hard to get here and we’ll look forward to the challenge it brings.
‘We know we won’t be travelling far, so it won’t be too unfamiliar.
‘And it brings focus to the end part of the pre-season now that we know who we’ve got and we can prepare for what should be a competitive cup tie alongside our planning for the Premier League.’
Clarets chairman Mike Garlick, meanwhile, said he expected the Lancashire club to sell out their entire allocation for the first leg at Pittodrie.
Garlick added: ‘As for the players, it’s not a problem there.
‘A lot of our players have played international football and in Europe before for other clubs, so they are used to the travel and we’ll take it in our stride and see where it takes us.
‘The more I think about the game, the more excited I am.
‘It wasn’t something that was perhaps top of our list before the draw as it’s not the Amalfi Coast or the Cote d’Azur.
‘But I do like a drop of whisky and I am sure the locals will be very hospitable and good fun, so we are very much looking forward to it.
‘The main thing is we are actually in the competition, so whoever we got was kind of secondary for the club and the fans.’
Garlick added: ‘We kind of didn’t care where we went; we just wanted to be there.’