Aberdeen team captain Scott Brown believes Qarabag have set the bar the Dons must aspire to after dishing out a Europa Conference League lesson at Pittodrie.
The Dons’ hopes of reaching the group stages of UEFA’s inaugural competition were ended by the Azerbaijan club as they ran out 4-1 winners thanks to a 3-1 win in Aberdeen on Thursday in the play-off round.
For Aberdeen it was a familiar case of so near yet so far as they missed out on the group stages for the eighth year running, but Brown believes the players should use their opponents as inspiration.
The former Celtic captain said: “We were beaten by the better team. They played some great football and it wasn’t our day.
“We didn’t perform as well as we possibly could, but they were fantastic over the two legs and the better team went through.
“It’s hard one to take. You try to play as well as you possibly can, hold out and create chances, but we didn’t create enough chances, work the goalie enough and when they scored early doors it killed the momentum and quietened the crowd.
“It’s a hard one for the lads to take.
“It’s a learning experience. It’s where we want to get to. It’s about playing under pressure and quietening the crowd. There’s a lot of young lads in our squad.
“Over the last four or five weeks they’ve been fantastic. It’s a learning curve. We want to be in the group stages, we’re not this season, and we need to prepare and come back next season.”
Response needed when Ross County visit Pittodrie
The sense of despondency was evident at the club following Thursday’s disappointing exit, but Brown knows there is little time for reflection as attention now switches to the visit of Ross County to Pittodrie on Sunday.
The Dons skipper believes the quick return to duty is what is needed following the European exit.
He said: “It’s hard for everyone to take, not just the younger players. We need to look forward to Sunday now.
“Everyone thinks back about what they could have done better and how we could have been better organised, but we need to focus on Sunday, get the three points and finish this six-week spell on a high.
“You saw the gap, it’s quite big. They were a great team, well organised and played some fantastic football. They have some good players. We just have to keep going, work hard.
“Now we’re out the competition, we have to look forward to the league and try to do as well as can in the league and cup we have left.
“The one good thing about football is there’s another game around the corner.
“Sunday is a huge game for us. We’ve had a good start in the league and we need to maintain our performance, make sure our energy levels are up to speed. Going into the international break we want to finish this mini-campaign on a high and put smiles back on people’s faces.
“For us as a team it’s about how we bounce back and Sunday is a huge game for us.
“Thursday was a learning curve and it is the standard we want to get to, so we need to push as hard as we can.
“I’ve not been involved for long, but the lads have been fantastic. This is a slip-up and we have to take it on the chin and move on to Sunday.”
Lessons to be learned
Brown’s European experience is more than the rest of his team-mates’ combined and he believes the painful lessons learned on Thursday can help the Dons make the improvements required to be stronger in the future both domestically and in Europe.
He said: “It’s a build-up process. We have to focus on every game in the Premiership, work well, make sure we are composed and try to get to the standard they played.
“We have to be better on the ball when under pressure and when we get up the park be relentless in front of goal.
“The manager and backroom staff have been fantastic since coming in and we have been pushing it as hard as we can. We know there is more to come and we’re looking forward to it.
“The lads have loved it. It’s great, everyone wants to play games. It becomes a harder situation when you are training Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all the way through. The lads have dealt with the schedule.
“We want to make this place a hard place to come to and the fans were fantastic as well. We want to do better as a group.”
With the league and the Scottish Cup, Aberdeen’s focus for the rest of the campaign Brown will be free to take on more of his coaching duties, but the midfielder insists his focus for now remains firmly on contributing on the pitch.
He said: “It’s been enjoyable. For me it is about learning underneath a manager and coaching staff about budgets and playing staff, but my main focus is still on playing and I make sure I am organised and ready, feeling fresh and available for selection.”
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