My Dons must be battle ready
McInnes wary of primed Latvians
CRAIG REID’S hotly-disputed winner for Motherwell against Aberdeen cost the Dons second place in the Scottish P remiership and an accompanying £240,000 bounty.
But the additional consequences of that late goal at Pittodrie in May hovered into view yesterday when Derek McInnes’ side were handed an unprecedented early Europa League draw against Latvian side FK Daugava Riga on July 3 and 10.
Their Fir Park rivals will have the benefit of a further fortnight off before their European adventures kick off against the winners of the tie between Stjarnan from Iceland and Bangor City from Wales.
By contrast, final-day disappointment has left McInnes trying to plan some much-needed rest for his squad after a gruelling season while at the same time warding off the dangers inherent in facing a team already well into their league campaign.
Certainly, Aberdeen fans need no reminder about the last time they were caught cold in the Europa League by a little-fancied Czech side, SK Sigma Olomouc.
A record 5-1 European defeat on July 30, 2009, led Mark McGhee to memorably declare that he had seen his own personal standing at the club go from ‘legend to idiot’.
However, as the Dons prepare for their first foray into Europe since that 8-1 aggregate drubbing five years ago, McInnes is confident his League Cup winners will be ready for the fresher Latvians when the ties kick off at Pittodrie a week on Thursday.
‘It’s a draw that’s not too difficult to travel to and we are all excited about and we want to do as well as possible,’ said McInnes.
‘But the difficulty we will have is that we are still in pre-season and they have the advantage of more game time.
‘They are well into their season, having played 17 games, and currently sit seventh in their league, having finished fourth last year. But it’s up to us to make sure we are ready.
‘The game does come early and it’s had to be a different pre-season for us.
‘We’ve tried to get the balance right of giving the players the rest they need but also ensuring they are back early enough to be ready to do their jobs properly.
‘But we are confident that after our three (friendly) games we will be ready for (European football) when it comes around.
‘We feel we have a team and a squad that can do well.’
Although their last continental sojourn ended in disaster, Aberdeen remain a club with a considerable European pedigree.
They famously won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983 under Alex Ferguson, while in recent years they became the last non-Old Firm team to reach the group stage of the Europa League.
Under Jimmy Calderwood they reached the last 32, drawing 2-2 at home to Bayern Munich before losing heavily to the Germans in the second leg.
McInnes wants to mastermind many more memories for the Dons fans, who always follow their team in huge numbers.
He said: ‘Traditionally, this club is very respected in Europe and we want to make strides to be back in European football on a regular basis.
‘It’s not a case of us just being happy to be there. We want to do as well as we can. I’m sure the supporters are l ooking f orward to a f ew adventures and we want to give them that. Financially for the club, too, it could be good if we get through.
‘ We also go i nto Europe with confidence after last season’s efforts. We always want to improve.
‘I still think there is more to come and there is plenty to look forward to.’
Meanwhile, former defender Brian Irvine has urged Aberdeen to avoid the Latvian nightmare he once suffered alongside his Dons team-mates on the club’s return to Riga.
The last time Aberdeen faced a team from that city, Willie Miller’s team lost on away goals to unfancied Skonto Riga in what was then known as the UEFA Cup 20 years ago.
Aberdeen never recovered from that shock and after Miller was sacked, replacement Roy Aitken only kept them in the top flight after a play-off win against Dunfermline.
‘I think this current Aberdeen side are too good to lose this tie — but then I thought we would beat Skonto,’ recalled Irvine yesterday.
‘On paper it was a tie we should have strolled but we failed to score in the away leg and we got caught with a sucker-punch away goal in the return at Pittodrie.
‘It was a massive blow to the club and things just went from bad to worse from there as we nearly got relegated that season.
‘That’s a warning to the current team about what can happen.
‘ Derek McInnes a nd Tony Docherty have got the players, the club and the entire city buzzing again. The next step would be to re- establish the club’s reputation abroad with a European run.’