Aberdeen manager Barry Robson hopes he can pass on his wealth of experience to his players when their European campaign gets underway.
The Dons will face either Zalgiris Vilinius of Lithuania or Swedish side BK Hacken in the play-off round of the Europa League following the draw by UEFA in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday.
Aberdeen have faced both clubs before, having beaten Zalgiris 5-4 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup in 1996 while they beat Hacken 5-3 on aggregate in the Conference League two years ago.
Dons boss Robson boasts Champions League and Europa League experience from his playing career with Celtic and Aberdeen and he hopes he can put it to good use as a manager.
Robson said: “I was lucky to play a lot of games in Europe and internationally so I understand the ins and outs of it.
“I’m well versed so it’s about getting that across to the players.
“We have thought a lot about the amount of games we have but it’s this is the reward for the back end of last season.”
‘It’s a good time to be at Aberdeen’
Aberdeen will have guaranteed European football under Christmas after securing a third place finish in the Scottish Premiership this season.
The demands on the squad will be significant due to eight additional matches and four long trips.
Robson acknowledges the task at hand but believes his players will relish the challenge.
He said: “They need to go and enjoy it.
“It’s a good time to be at Aberdeen. Is it going to be difficult? Yes, we saw it with Hearts last season.
“But that’s where we want to be. We want to be in Europe.
“They will cope with it fine.”
Reinforcements are coming
Aberdeen’s recruitment efforts are continuing with the club closing in on a deal for New Zealand defender James McGarry.
Robson expects a busy final month of the window as he aims to build a squad capable of competing domestically and in Europe.
The Dons boss said: “There is great history here and we need to try to pick the right teams and rotate as much as we can to stay in the fight in the league.
“It’s a really important first block of the season and we’re building a team that’s young and vibrant
“When you see the recruitment we’ve done it’s a lot of players who haven’t reached their ceiling.
“We’ve got a good age group and we’ll need that energy when you look at the number of games we’ve got.
“There’s still a long way to go in the window and every manager in the same situation right now; we all want to strengthen as we we’ve got a lot of games coming.
Patience important in the transfer market
Ylber Ramadani’s departure for Lecce on Friday has weakened a midfield which Robson was already aiming to bolster.
The Aberdeen manager has been patient in his transfer dealings this summer and while mindful of the fact the window closes on September 1 Robson insists he will not be rushed into making signings.
The Dons boss said: “We’re speaking to players. We’ve been patient and tried to be smart in the window, and we’ll continue to do that.
“We don’t want people in the building who will disrupt and it’s quite clear we don’t have that. We’ve got a good group of boys in there and we’ve got a good dressing room.
“We’ve got a few areas we need to strengthen but we still need to get players in.
“Hopefully in the next two or three weeks that will happen and they can help the boys already here.”
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