Severin is sure Dons can match class of ’08
SCOTT SEVERIN is convinced Aberdeen skipper Ryan Jack can emulate his achievement by captaining the Dons to the group stages of European competition.
The former Scotland international led the team when Jimmy Calderwood’s side made it to the last 32 of the old UEFA Cup i n 2008 before losing out to Bayern Munich.
That remains the Pittodrie club’s best run in the last 30 years after they progressed from a group that i ncluded Atletico Madrid and Panathinaikos.
However, Severin admits they enjoyed the advantage of having to negotiate only one qualifying round to get there — against Dnipro — while the current team must win four.
The third hurdle for Derek McInnes’ side starts with an eight-hour, 4,500-mile trip across five time zones to Kazakhstan for the first leg against FC Kairat Almaty on Thursday — but their former skipper is confident they will overcome any difficulties.
Severin, who was forced to retire three years ago after suffering a triple leg break, was back at Pittodrie on Sunday for Jamie Langfield’s testimonial and is impressed with the progress his old club are making.
He said: ‘ We played one tie to get to the group stage, so for the current team to have to play four is a big ask but I am confident they can do it.
‘This team has been together for a couple of years now. They played in Europe last year, so there is no reason why they cannot emulate what we did.
‘As a player, you get a taste for European football and you want more but it ultimately didn’t work out that way for us
‘But we did have some great trips to look back on and, hopefully, the current team will as well. It’s obviously great for the club to be in Europe every year and that has to be the aim now.
‘They are easily the second best team in the league but that doesn’t take away t he need f or Aberdeen to perform consistently every week.
‘The league opened up last season and there is no reason why it won’t be the same this time and I expect them to challenge Celtic.
‘ The f acilities are changing, t he place is becoming more professional and the club is going from strength to strength.’
Severin, now 36, is particularly impressed with the strong squad McInnes has assembled in contrast to the situation the club were in when he was at Pittodrie.
The Aberdeen manager has added Kenny McLean, Graeme Shinnie and Paul Quinn to his roster, all captains at their previous cl ubs, as well as Liverpool’s on-loan goalkeeper Danny Ward this year.
He also has all his key players tied up on long-term contracts — a far cry from Calderwood’s era when the manager lost important players between the UEFA Cup’s group stage and knockout round.
That’s why Severin, capped 15 times for his country, is confident the team will continue to flourish at home and abroad as long as McInnes is at the helm.
‘I remember when Aberdeen struggled to attract players here for a while,’ said former Hearts, Watford, Kilmarnock and Dundee United player Severin, ‘ but nowadays the players are coming here as they can see what the management team is doing.
‘When I was here we couldn’t keep it going as we lost a couple of players every season.
‘Even in the season we made it out of the group stage we lost Michael Hart to Preston and Chris Clark to Plymouth before the knockout round.
‘Players wanted to go down to England but Aberdeen can provide European football now and keep their players. ‘Today, guys can see a bright future for the club and want to be here. Derek McInnes is building a squad which can cope with injuries and has youngsters coming through who
look really exciting.’