Aberdeen boss Stephen Glass insists Breidablik’s shock win over Austria Vienna highlights the threat which lies ahead in the third qualifying round of the Conference League.
The Dons head for Iceland next week after Breidablik eliminated Austria 3-2 on aggregate on Thursday and the result has reinforced Glass’ belief another tough task lies ahead.
The Aberdeen manager said: “If you take care of a team like Austria Vienna then you have to be very dangerous.
“We saw the scoreline on Thursday and from the first leg, so we will do our homework on them.
“Right now we are preparing for Dundee United first and then we will look into them.
“They will be a very capable team and to get through a tie like that says a lot about them. So we know they’ll be of a very good standard.”
JET hopes to be fit to face United
Dons striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was forced off the field at the start of the second half of his side’s second qualifying round second leg tie at BK Hacken on Thursday with a face knock, but Glass hopes the forward will be fit to face Dundee United at Pittodrie on Sunday.
He said: “Jay is desperate to play because he came off so early.
“You saw while he was on the pitch the partnership he’s developing with Christian Ramirez and they are linking up well together.
“They look dangerous and if JET plays off the side, which is something we might look at, then that gives us another really good option.”
Glass named an unchanged starting 11 for the game in Gothenburg, which Hacken won 2-0, but is contemplating freshening up his team for the game against United following the 5-3 aggregate win against the Swedes.
He said: “In Sweden the other night Calvin Ramsay was excellent again and Jack MacKenzie came on to do his bit as well.
“Connor McLennan came on from the bench again, so I am happy on that front – it shows the depth of squad we have.
“With the schedule we have coming up, I will look at changes, but the boys are capable of playing three games in a week.
“So we will look at United and pick the best team we think we can put out to win the game.
“It would have been nice to get players off the pitch earlier on Thursday and we would have if we’d taken some of our chances in the first half.
“As it was we couldn’t do that, but the group is strong and we know we’re in it for the long haul.
“If there are no changes on Sunday that doesn’t mean we don’t have options, it means we think that 11 is the best one for that game.”
Fans can play their part
United beat the Dons 3-0 on their last visit to Pittodrie in the Scottish Cup, but Glass is expecting a more competitive tie this weekend especially with more than 6,000 Aberdeen supporters inside the stadium to cheer on their side.
He said: “United are a team who have been playing well in the Premier Sports Cup, they have a few wins under their belt.
“They had a good performance against us the last time we played them at Pittodrie, so they will come back to us with confidence.
“But we have put in a very good performance in our last home game, the fans saw that and sold out the tickets within two hours.
“So hopefully we can do it again for them.
“We have 6,300 allowed this time, which is a bit more than the Hacken game, so it shows how much people want to come and see us on the back of that.”
Glass stressed the important role fans play in matches and is hoping for another vocal support from the Dons faithful.
He said: “The intensity of having supporters there makes a huge difference.
“I felt that in Sweden on Thursday. We’d played in front of a noisy crowd at Pittodrie the week before, were four goals up in the tie, but there wasn’t much atmosphere over there.
“We went out, knowing it was a potential banana skin, and tried to perform – but it’s difficult with no crowds.
“Big players respond to crowds and crowds respond to seeing good performances.
“That went hand in hand in the European game and hopefully that will be the case for us on Sunday too.”