GROUP HUGS
Milne vows to give McInnes a fighting chance of Europa qualification as he vows to bring in Pittodrie new faces
STEWART MILNE last night vowed to give Derek McInnes the new faces to give Aberdeen a fighting chance of making the Europa League group stage.
The Reds return for pre-season training a week today and the Dons chairman is confident there will be new signings in place.
Aberdeen were handed a tough draw yesterday and will face either Kazakhstan’s Ordabasy or Bosnians Siroki Brijeg in the second qualifying round on July 13 and 20.
And Milne said: “I would be extremely surprised and disappointed if we did not have a few more in place ready for the start of the pre-season.
“They will probably not be all the ones we want to get in. Some of them will also come in during pre-season but Derek is keen to have as many right from the outset if he can.
“We came close to the group stage last year and we have gained a lot of experience in Europe over the last three years.
“Providing we can get the right players in over the coming weeks, Derek and I genuinely believe we can have a right go at it this year.
“What we have been doing with Derek over the last four years on the back of the success he has delivered is to move the player budget ahead.
“That is what we set out to do again this year. We knew much earlier in the year the moves we wanted to make come the summer to rebuild the squad. We will look at how we can pull together the funds to enable that to happen.”
Scotland star Shaun Maloney, a free agent as his contract with Hull has expired, is high on McInnes’ list and Birmingham have been approached over Greg Stewart on a potential loan deal. Milne is also ready to reopen negotiations with McInnes over an extended deal.
He added: “Sunderland was a big opportunity for Derek and his assistant Tony Docherty but they decided Aberdeen is where they want to be for the next couple of years.
“We have to find a way of showing how much we appreciate them making that decision.”
Meanwhile McInnes will leave nothing to chance as they face another trip into the unknown.
He said: “We’ll have both legs watched and will treat whoever we get with the utmost respect. “If it does happen to be a trip to Kazakhstan again, the game will be in Almaty so it won’t be a new experience for us. If it is Ordabasy, unlike last time when we travelled to play Kairat, we won’t have a domestic game immediately after
the long trip.” ORDABASY SHYMKENT – Were formed 16 years ago and finished fourth in the Kazakh top flight last season.
Ordabasy have featured in four Europa League ties but have won only one of them.
They have a 20,000-capacity stadium and the flight to the Asian nation takes six hours over a whopping 4340 miles. SIROKI BRIJEG – Have twice been champions of Bosnia but were seventh in the league last season. However, they gained entry to the Europa League having won the Bosnian Cup.
Brijeg’s Pecara Stadium holds 7000 and they have a better European pedigree than Ordabasy, having featured in the UEFA Cup, Champions League and Europa League 13 times.
Hearts beat them in Champions League qualifying back in 2006.