It’s a slog but we won’t be Jacking it in

Ryan Jack doesn’t believe the group stages are beyond Aberdeen in the Europa League – despite an eight-game journey to reach them.

The Dons skipper was frustrated to fall at the penultimate hurdle last year, losing to Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty.

However, he insists they don’t have an inferiority complex as they prepare to begin this season’s adventure against Fola Esch of Luxembourg on Thursday.

The 23-year-old said: “The group stage would be the next step if we really want to show ourselves on the biggest stage. We can give it a real go.

“Last season against Kairat, if we’d played at home first it might have been a totally different tie. If we’d had the chance to see them, we’d have known we were the better side.

“The conditions made it tough there and they came flying out the traps. One of their goals was a screamer, so there wasn’t much we could do, but we definitely were frustrated.

“It was a lesson learned about believing in ourselves, especially from the tie before against Rijeka.

“There was no fear. Maybe we just sat back and didn’t show our true selves.”

Jack also believes the early start to competitive action can give the Dons the same kind of bounce which saw them win eight straight at the start of last season’s Premiership.

He said: “Hopefully the European games will give us that match sharpness to start well again.”