DON’T TALK OUR GAME DOWN
McInnes hopes the critics are forced to eat words
FORGET about tonight’s hotly anticipated Europa League tie between Aberdeen and Burnley for a moment. Adam Rooney’s recent move from Pittodrie to fifth-tier English side Salford City sparked another Battle of Britain entirely.
Scottish ire was fuelled by the striker’s unexpected move to the Vanarama National League outfit being derided by a section of the English media as a symbol of the decline of the once-proud game north of the border.
It was also debated as ‘a new low’ on the talkSPORT show hosted by Scottish presenter Jim White.
Had Rooney been a talismanic, free-scoring figure in the Dons side that finished second to Celtic last season the critics may just have had a point.
In truth, the 30-year-old forward was unlikely to see much game time at Pittodrie this season and the sixfigure sum on offer from Salford — on wages of £4,000 per week — made the switch a no-brainer for both Aberdeen and Rooney.
In fact, the prevailing view amongst those who work in Scottish football is that the game is finally on the way back up again after years spent recovering from the kind of fiscal lunacy still scarring English football.
The arrivals of Steven Gerrard at Rangers, following Brendan Rodgers into Celtic and Steve Clarke at Kilmarnock, suggest the Premiership is an increasingly attractive league for big name bosses.
And the fact that the Champions League final last season between Liverpool and Real Madrid boasted former Dundee United left-back Andrew Robertson and ex-Celtic centre-half Virgil van Dijk suggests there is quality to be found on the pitch up here, too.
So as Dons boss Derek McInnes prepared to welcome Burnley in tonight’s Europa League secondround qualifier, he had no intention of using the sellout fixture to alter what he believes is an ill-informed image of the Scottish game. He said: ‘People can be too dismissive of Scottish football but I’m not really bothering about changing perceptions,. ‘People that don’t know Scottish football but still want to talk about it? That’s up to them but it’s not important to me. ‘It’s like an opinion on anything. If you actually look at the subject and know what you are talking about and you still have an opinion on it, then fair enough. ‘But there’s a lot of good about Scottish football. ‘Loads of players come from our league and go on to do very well at the bigger clubs in England. ‘Last season, two former players from our league played in the Champions League final. But I’ve not got any time or interest in justifying the Scottish league to people. ‘We know where we are and, from speaking to managers, scouts and recruitment people down in England, I know there is a healthy regard for Scottish football.’
Instead of altering perceptions, McInnes will instead be focusing on trying to get a result against a Burnley side he believes will be the toughest team he has faced in Europe in his five-year Aberdeen tenure.
There is certainly a vast financial gulf between the rivals. Burnley earned £120million in prize and television money for finishing seventh in the Premier League last season while Aberdeen received just £2.28m for their second-place finish in the Premiership.
‘I think this will be the most difficult match we will have had in Europe,’ said McInnes.
‘Real Sociedad finished seventh in La Liga and we were very close to getting a result here against them here in the Europa League a couple of years ago.
‘They have been the best team we’ve played in the Europa League so far — but Burnley will be as good as anything we’ve faced in Europe. In terms of what they can spend, there is a huge chasm. But everything is relative to the league they are in and I do not think Burnley have ever been a team that throw money about.
‘The strength of their team comes from everything else but money.
‘Their biggest strength is they are brilliant at what they do and their work ethic is fantastic.
‘You don’t finish seventh in the English Premier League without a good reason but the fact they have done it without spending anything like the money other clubs do spend is great credit to them.’
While Sean Dyche spent a clubrecord £15m on striker Chris Wood, McInnes has been scrambling around trying to replace Salfordbound Rooney.
But the Aberdeen boss refuses to be ripped off ahead of this big European tie because he wants to make sure he gets value for money with the funds he does have to spend in the transfer market.
‘In an ideal world you would have everything done,’ he said. ‘But an ideal world would mean having loads of cash and you would just go out and get someone. We don’t have a lot of money to throw at it but what we do have we will use wisely.’
When Burnley’s first venture into Europe in 52 years saw them paired with Aberdeen, fan Liam Vizeh’s colourful dismayed reaction to drawing a Scottish team went viral.
Dons captain Graeme Shinnie was one of the 19,000 viewers of that clip and he is hoping to make it a miserable trip north for the away fans.
‘Burnley probably wanted to go abroad somewhere,’ he smiled. ‘I noticed a fan put a video up saying how long they had waited to qualify for Europe — and they ended up in Scotland!
‘It’s a Battle of Britain and I’m sure they will be buzzing for it and they will feel like they can win it. It’s got all the makings of a good game.
‘We know what’s in store and what Burnley come with after finishing seventh in the English Premier League. But, if we won, then they might think Scottish football isn’t so bad after all!’