READY TO ROAR
McInnes claims Dons will be in with a shout once cobwebs blow away on Emerald Isle
An intense preseason training camp in Ireland will ensure that Aberdeen will be hitting top gear for the start of the forthcoming season, according to boss Derek McInnes.
The Dons were gifted an extra seven days off over the summer after finishing second in the Premiership last season and guaranteeing entry in the second round of Europa League qualifying, but they have been put through their paces in Cork in this week.
Aberdeen will start their new campaign on July 26 against Burnley. McInnes insisted that the Premier League side will be their toughest Europa League opponent in the last five years, and may even be better than Real Sociedad, who beat the Reds in continental competition in 2014.
‘This has been the most I’ve been able to do with the players in pre-season since I came to the club,’ said McInnes, from his side’s training camp at the Fota Island Resort. ‘They have had the benefit of extra rest so we have been able to throw more work at them.
‘The way they have tested and the way they have performed shows me that extra rest has allowed them to become fitter and stronger. We are not having to condense all the work into the first week like we have in the past.
‘In previous years we have just been trying to fire them up quickly, so they have not had a pre-season in the true sense. I think that will benefit them all and will help us going into the European games.’
Sociedad overcame Aberdeen 5-2 over two legs, having finished seventh in La Liga in the 2013/14 campaign to qualify for the Europa League. Burnley finished seventh in the Premier League last season to earn their first entry into European football in 52 years.
And McInnes added: ‘In the past we have improved massively from one match to the next in Europe, you get stronger as the matches go on. But this time round we face a very tough match in the first game.
‘Real Sociedad were a very good side, they finished seventh in the Spanish league the year we played them. For me, Burnley is just as tough — if not tougher — when you look at the league they come out of and the level of player they have.
‘We have to hit the ground running against them, we have to have that performance straight away this time round.’
Aberdeen face a tricky start to the season, with Rangers their first Premiership match — on August 5 — three days after they face Burnley at Turf Moor in the second leg of that tie.
‘Every training session is a step towards where we want to be in that first game,’ said McInnes. ‘We have a very exciting start to the season, our first three matches are Burnley, Burnley and then Rangers.
‘They will be three sell-out games with a lot of focus on them. So we have to make sure we are ready for everything.’
The camp in Ireland has presented McInnes with a chance to see his new signings — Chris Forrester, Stephen Gleeson and Lewis Ferguson — at first hand. They could all make their debuts tomorrow against Cobh Ramblers.
‘It has been good to get the players in and integrated,’ said McInnes. ‘Being away for a week is part of that, getting everyone together and through the hard work as a team.
‘It’s good for fostering team spirit because it’s tough, they work hard and you put a lot of demands on them.
‘When they all go through a session together that is tough on them it helps with that.’