Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne believes defeating Burnley in the Europa League is not beyond the Dons.
The two sides will meet at Pittodrie on July 26 and at Turf Moor on August 2 in what will be the first England-Scotland contest in the competition since Hearts faced Liverpool in 2012.
The Dons announced yesterday more than 5,000 tickets had already been sold for the first leg, with Burnley due to put their away allocation on sale today. Discussions are also taking place with broadcasters to have the tie televised.
This is the Clarets’ first foray into European football in more than 50 years, while the Dons are looking to progress to the competition’s group stages, having made the third qualifying round for the last four seasons.
Derek McInnes’s side take on Burnley before hosting Steven Gerrard’s Rangers at Pittodrie on August 5 on the opening weekend of the Scottish Premiership season.
Milne said: “We’re going to hit the ground running.
“There’s a lot at stake in the three initial games, particularly the two European ones. Derek feels it’s a big challenge but it’s certainly not beyond us.
“If we get the breaks and some things go in our favour, we can come through that with the right result.
“There are discussions going on in the background and I think one way or another, there will be (television) coverage of the games. It’s important we can achieve that – a limited number of their fans can come here and a limited number of our fans can go down there. They will want to see the game and we have to find a way to let both sets of fans see the games.”
The Dons chairman was on site yesterday for the ceremonial breaking of ground for the club’s new stadium and training complex at Kingsford, near Westhill. The first phase of the £50million project will see a training pavilion, groundsman’s accommodation, three training pitches, two 3G pitches and two grass pitches built.
As well as the first-team using the site, which Milne hopes will be ready for pre-season next year, the club’s community trust will reap the rewards of it.
But Milne does not see it as part of his legacy at Aberdeen, focusing rather on the long-term impact of the club having its own training base.
Milne said: “I don’t see it as my legacy. I’m just happy to see it start and deliver the much-needed facilities for the club.
“Hopefully, we’ll be standing here next year with the first phase at completion, seeing guys come back for pre-season and having a base here.
“Once the first phase is delivered, we will have to take a big deep breath before we tackle the stadium, as it’ll be a major challenge to raise the funds needed. Pre-season is the target, if everything goes to plan.”
The Dons continue their pre-season with a friendly against Falkirk at Gayfield, Arbroath this evening (7.30pm kick-off).