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.

Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos relishing the pressure as Dons chase European return

Dutchman fully aware of importance of European football on landmark week for the club.

Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos. Image: SNS
Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos. Image: SNS

Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos is ready to embrace the pressure of helping the Dons back into Europe.

In a week where the club’s greatest team has returned to the Granite City to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their European Cup Winners’ Cup final win against Real Madrid the class of 2023 is closing in on a return to Europe.

The Gothenburg Greats will be guests of honour at Pittodrie as they watch Barry Robson’s side take on Hibernian at Pittodrie.

Victory for the Dons will all but secure European football next season and with the possibility of European football until Christmas if they can finish third, Roos is excited about what could lie ahead.

He said: “I think it is very exciting for everyone involved with this football club. The fans are excited, the players are excited.

“If you look at the bigger picture you might feel some pressure but ultimately that is part and parcel of football.

“There is always pressure, whether you are playing for relegation, promotion, winning the league, European football, there is always some sort of pressure.

“As a footballer you need to be able to embrace that.

“Football is pressure, being a goalkeeper is probably even more so pressure.

“Personally, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m excited to get to Saturday and perform to our best.”

Points the priority before Roos will join Gothenburg celebrations

Kelle Roos. Image: SNS

Nostalgia surrounds the game at Pittodrie, with fans selling out the stadium as they welcome former captain Willie Miller and his team-mates back for a day of celebration.

It has been impossible escaping the build-up to the game, which comes as the players and club received the freedom of the city from the Lord Provost.

Roos is focused on the game but he hopes three points can then lead to him and his team-mates enjoying the occasion afterwards.

He said: “For me, I’m going to be honest, it’s not as much about enjoying yet because you can’t really do that until after the game.

“As a group of players we are probably minimally distracted by it.

“It’s beautiful and I think it shows us how important it is to this football club if we get European football.

“It’s a nice incentive for us. At the same time, it might be boring, but we just need to be at the races on Saturday.”

‘I knew about Gothenburg from day one’

John Hewitt scores the winner for Aberdeen against Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup final. Image: SNS

The Dons goalkeeper was not even born when John Hewitt scored the most famous goal in the club’s history in Gothenburg but he knows all about the legendary feat.

Roos said: “The first time I heard about it was the first day I spoke to Aberdeen.

“That sums up, and rightly so, how everyone is proud of that here.

“It shows the club has a lot of history, big history. It also carries a lot of beauty with it.

“I speak to Neil Simpson quite a bit. When I came in I liked to find out about (the success).

“He walks around the corridors every day so it’s brilliant to have him around.

“It’s sometimes a little bit surreal to feel that Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were beaten by Aberdeen.

“It is something to be very proud of and should be celebrated. Each player should be adored in every way so it’s great that it’s happening.”

Roos proud of Dons’ defensive resilience under Robson

A team which struggled to keep clean sheets under former manager Jim Goodwin has been transformed into a resolute and miserly outfit under new boss Barry Robson.

Roos has revelled in the new-found mean streak of the side and it is clear confidence is not in short supply at Pittodrie following their resurgence under Robson.

The Dons goalkeeper said: “We have shown we are hard to beat at times.

“That’s important because you know how games can go from 20 minute spells under pressure to 20 minute spells of domination.

“It’s important you can see these times out because I think anyone who has followed all these games knows these games weren’t easy at all.

“So it gives us a lot of confidence to show we don’t give goals away easily.

“Other teams now know we are not a rollover.”

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson. Image: PA

When asked if the mindset had changed under Robson, Roos said: “That’s exactly right.

“It’s the boring answer but we take it week to week, football can change very quickly.

“We just need to make sure we prepare as best as we can for the next game coming.

“There’s a lot going on this weekend which is beautiful, but we have to make sure it’s a good weekend for everyone.”

Conversation