Former Aberdeen captain Scott Severin believes Derek McInnes’ squad can emulate the success of the class of 2007-08 by reaching the group stages of the Europa League.
Severin, who retired from football due to injury in 2011, led the Dons to the group stages in the final season of the Uefa Cup in 2007 after going through on away goals against Ukrainian club Dnipro.
Jimmy Calderwood’s side went on to play Greek side Panathinaikos, Russians Lokomotiv Moscow, Atletico Madrid of Spain and Danish club Copenhagen, and made it through to the last 32 before being eliminated by Germans Bayern Munich.
Midfielder Severin, who now works in the oil industry following his retirement from football, knows the path to the group stages is significantly tougher than that he and his team-mates faced eight years ago, but believes the current squad can enjoy a lengthy stay in the tournament this season – no matter the calibre of the opposition.
He said: “When we qualified for the group stages we only had to play one game, so for the current team to have to play four qualifying rounds is a big ask, but I am confident they can do it.
“They’ve done great in the last couple of years and have built some momentum.
“I remember when Aberdeen struggled to attract players here for a while, but nowadays the players are coming here as they can see what the management team is doing.
“It is getting tougher every year to reach the group stages of the Europa League, but this team has been together for a couple of years now and played in Europe last year so there is no reason why they cannot emulate what we did.
“As a player you get a taste for European football and want more, but it didn’t quite work out that way for us.
“But we did have some great trips to look back on and hopefully the current team will too.
“When I was here we couldn’t keep it going as we lost a couple of players every season.
“Even when we made it out of the group stages we lost Michael Hart to Preston and Chris Clark to Plymouth.
“Players wanted to go down to England, but Aberdeen can provide regular European football now and keep players.
“Today players can see a bright future for the club and want to be here as they know they can earn a bigger move to England later in their careers.”
The Dons squad finished in the top six every season under former manager Jimmy Calderwood’s stewardship between 2004 and 2009, but following a slump under Mark McGhee – Thursday marks six years to the day since the humiliating 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Czech Republic side Sigma Olomouc – Aber-deen has been rebuilt into one of the leading teams in Scottish football under McInnes.
Severin, who was back at Pittodrie to play in a match at half-time of goalkeeper Jamie Langfield’s testimonial match against Brighton on Sunday, believes the future is bright for the club and its current crop of promising young talent.
He said: “It’s a totally different club now.
“The management team here has a strong group of players together and they are doing well.
“It’s great for the club to be in European competition every year and that has to be the aim now.
“They are easily the second best team in the league now and progressing every season should be the aim.
“It was tougher for us with Rangers in the league, but that doesn’t take away the need for Aberdeen to perform consistently every week.
“The league opened up last season and there is no reason why it can’t again this year and I expect them to challenge Celtic.
“Derek McInnes is building a squad here which can cope with injuries and some of the young players who are coming through look really exciting as well. The future looks bright for the club for the next couple of years.
“The facilities are changing, the place is becoming more professional and the club is going from strength to strength.”