Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson believes the one-off Europa League qualifiers can bring out the best in his side.
The Dons were rewarded for a 6-0 rout of NSi Runavik of the Faroe Islands with a second qualifying round tie against Viking FK with the game due to be played in Norway on September 17.
Ferguson is enjoying the added tension of each round being decided on a one-off tie.
He said: “I don’t mind. That’s what is going to happen from now on and I quite enjoy it. It’s not as if you can go away and see out a draw and come back. You need to win the game which is what football is all about so I quite like it.
“Even if you come up against a stronger opponent you have a stronger chance in a one-off game. It’s like the Scottish Cup or League Cup, it’s a cup-tie and you want to win.
“The squad is on a high and there is a real togetherness. You can see that among the boys and the confidence is high right now.”
The Dons have bounced back from their opening day defeat to Rangers by winning all four of their subsequent matches.
The wins have come after three matches were postponed due to a coronavirus protocol breach by three players.
Ferguson, who played a key role in those matches, believes the incident has brought the Dons squad together.
He said: “The start of the season wasn’t ideal. We just got going with the Rangers game then were shut right down for a few weeks and everyone at the club was at a real low. There was so much going on that we weren’t able to concentrate on football.
“There is a real togetherness and when the boys came back in everyone rallied together. The gaffer really wanted everyone to stick together as a team as we’d been through so much and it is shown on the pitch in the way we dig in and everyone fights for each other.
“There is definitely more strength in depth this year. Boys have still to come back from injuries but the squad is the strongest it has been since I’ve been here.
“We have quality all over the park and when you look at our bench and the boys who are not here in Sam Cosgrove, Craig Bryson and Mikey Devlin we’ve got a really strong squad and a lot of competition for places.”
Ferguson resumed spot kick duties in his side’s 1-0 win at Hibernian on Sunday after stepping aside to let Ryan Hedges score his first career hat-trick in the 6-0 win against Runavik last Thursday.
While pleased for Hedges Ferguson expects to continue as the regular penalty taker at Pittodrie.
He said: “The other night Hedges was on a hat-trick so I let him hit it. I’d like to imagine if the shoe was on the other foot I’d get the same treatment.
“I’m on penalties right now so there was no doubt I was going to step up and take it.”