Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Jimmy Calderwood: Central defence is key to Dons Euro success

Jimmy Calderwood t
Jimmy Calderwood t

Former Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood believes captain Russell Anderson and central defensive partner Mark Reynolds will be key to hopes of progressing against Groningen tomorrow.

Derek McInnes’ side travel to the Netherlands looking for an away goal which would leave the Dutch needing to score twice to go through.

There was little between the teams a week ago and the former Dons manager does not expect the pattern to change in the Euroborg Stadium tomorrow.

Russell Anderson
Russell Anderson

He said: “The teams are very similar in style and I don’t expect the pattern to change for the game.

“Peter Pawlett, Niall McGinn and Adam Rooney are great options for a manager in European football, but it’s the strength in defence with both teams that impresses me and it’s a big part of both clubs’ plans. They are both very good defensively and that’s why Russell Anderson and Mark Reynolds will be so important. They will have to play a huge role if Aberdeen are to go through.”

Calderwood, who led the Dons to qualification from the group stages in season 2007-08 before exiting to Bayern Munich, expects another tight game following the goalless draw at Pittodrie last week.

Dons defender Mark Reynolds
Dons defender Mark Reynolds

When it comes to predicting who goes on to meet Real Sociedad in next week’s third qualifying round, however, the former Dons manager is struggling to choose a winner.

He said: “There won’t be much in the game at all as they are well matched.

“Defensively they are strong and they have players who can hurt you on the break.

“Aberdeen can set themselves up to counter-attack just as we did when we qualified for the group stages by getting a draw in Dnipro.

“It worked for us and it could work for the team now, but Groningen are a good side, especially at home and many teams have struggled to get results there.

“Their coach Erwin van de Looi has done a great job there and last season was the best one they have had for years. They’ve lost some key players but they remain a tough team to beat.

“They are very quick in the forward areas and are capable of nicking goals on the break, but so can Aberdeen. This one really could go either way.”