Aberdeen midfielder Jonny Hayes is hoping for Celtic opposition when the draw for the Europa League qualifying round is made later this month.
The Dons will discover their first round opponents when the draw is made on June 23 and while many Aberdeen supporters are hoping for an exotic location, Hayes, pictured, would prefer the comforts of home. He said: “I’ve seen a list of the possible clubs we could get and I only recognised about four of the teams.
“I want an Irish or Welsh team, somewhere not too far. I have spoken to some supporters who want a Maltese team or want to go to Gibraltar so they can tie in their holidays and it is a new experience for a lot of us.
“We know the further we go the tougher it will get so we aim to get off to a good start.
“We don’t worry about where we are travelling. There are no easy games but we want the easiest tie we can to progress.”
Hayes is wary of facing a team midway through their season but insists the Dons will be ready for their first competitive game on July 3 regardless of the opposition.
He said: “Some of the teams have already started and it will be difficult if we’ve only played one or two games.
“We will need to get our fitness and sharpness up.
“It went very well last season and we were ready from the off.
“We showed that in our last friendly against FC Twente game before the season started last year.”
The Dons players return for pre-season training on Thursday and Hayes insists he and his team-mates have already been working on their fitness ahead of what is traditionally the most gruelling spell of a player’s campaign.
He said: “We were meant to be going to Las Vegas but my partner is expecting so we cancelled that.
“It just gives me more time to get ready for pre-season. The more I do in the off season it makes it a lot easier to get ready for pre-season.
“I just tied things in with Adam Rooney’s wedding and the stag do.
“Our physio John Sharp gave us a programme last season. I followed it to the letter and I came back flying and it was easy for me.
“I have done the same this summer with the one our head of sport science Graham Kirk gave me.”