“We need to be miles better” is the Euro message from captain Graeme Shinnie after Aberdeen’s shocker against St Mirren and ahead of Thurday’s Europa League play-off second leg showdown with BK Hacken.
The Dons face Swedish champions Hacken at Pittodrie on Thursday.
At stake is a place in the Europa League group stage, with the tie finely balanced following a 2-2 draw in Gothenburg.
Just three days after their comeback against the Swedish champions, the Dons were fortunate to salvage a draw 2-2 at St Mirren via a penalty 10 minutes into injury time.
Straight-talking Shinnie warned the levels shown in Paisley were “not good enough” as the Reds ready to battle Hacken in a high-stakes clash.
Shinnie accepts there was a Euro hangover against St Mirren. But he is confident boss Barry Robson has built a squad strong enough to cope with the dual demands of European and domestic commitments.
He said: “It wasn’t good enough against St Mirren as we were a yard off it the whole game.
“We need to be miles better, we know that
“It was tough coming off the back of what we put in against Hacken on Thursday, but we need to deal with that this season.
“The only positive we can take from the St Mirren game is that we have taken a point from it.
“We now focus on Thursday against BK Hacken.”
Equipped to battle on two fronts
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson has rebuilt the squad this summer with 11 new signings.
The Dons have also agreed a deal with Belgian Pro-League club K.V. Kortrijk to sign striker Pape Habib Gueye.
Aberdeen are guaranteed European group stage football until mid-December regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s showdown with BK Hacken.
If the Dons overcome the Swedish champions, they will qualify for the group stage of the Europa League.
Should they lose to BK Hacken, the Reds will drop down into the Conference League groups.
Asked if Aberdeen are strong enough to balance group stage action with domestic commitments, Shinnie said: “Of course.
“A lot of new boys have come into the side and this is the first time they have had to deal with that.
“Being away, playing, travelling on the flight and everything else is new to a lot of our players.
“It is their first experience of that and they will learn from it and deal with it better as a squad.
“That’s what it’s all about – travelling, flying in Europe and playing in tough games is what we want as a club.
“We need to get used to it and need to perform better.”
Shinnie ready to ‘put stamp’ on second leg clash
Aberdeen’s Europa League group stage aspirations were hanging by a thread in Gothenburg in the first leg.
Trailing 2-0 with only 15 minutes left, the Reds dug deep and hit two quick-fire goals to draw 2-2.
In the immediate aftermath, boss Robson said his side could have scored “five or six goals” in Sweden.
Shinnie has urged the Dons to maintain that momentum by stamping their mark on the second leg – to deliver Europa League group action for the club.
The 32-year-old said: “It is a good trait to have – when we played as badly, as we did at St Mirren, to still come away with a point. To stick in and stay with it to get a point.
“However, we can’t be playing like that.
“We need to recover for the game on Thursday
“We will go over that game, analyse it and see where we could be better.
“It is a massive game on Thursday.
“With the magnitude of the game we need to put our own stamp on it.”
Bojan from the pen spot 🇲🇰@bojanmiovskii pic.twitter.com/sjEtrOipKs
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) August 28, 2023
The Pittodrie roar will be pivotal
Hacken also suffered a disappointing weekend domestically when crashing 4-2 away to city rivals IFK Gothenburg.
It was a major blow to their hopes of retaining the Allsvenskan as they lost valuable ground in the title race.
Prior to the weekend, they had trailed league leaders IF Elfsborg by one point, but that gap has been extended to four.
Pittodrie has sold out for the Euro play-off second leg and Shinnie reckons the raucous Red Army can play a major role.
He said: “It will be a tough game as we all saw Hacken are a good side.
“However, at Pittodrie, with our crowd right behind us, it is a game we are looking forward to.
“We are excited for it and it is a game we want to do well in.”
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