Aberdeen defender Ash Taylor spent his formative football years ploughing the byways of lower-league football in England with Tranmere Rovers, so remains spectacularly unfazed by the 5,000-mile journey for tonight’s Europa League third qualifying round match against Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan.
The Dons directors spent nearly £200,000 on a charter flight with a Maltese airline to ensure the squad was in the best possible condition for the first leg, which will be played in front of a full house of 23,000 at the Central Stadium today.
An eight-hour flight with a stop in the Estonian capital Tallinn and a five-hour time difference, combined with high temperatures in central Asia would pose enough of a challenge before the thought of facing an expensively assembled Kairat side.
Try getting to Plymouth, Torquay or Southampton from the north-west of England on a Tuesday night. The 24-year-old Taylor is determined there will be no excuses today and knows what to expect. He said: “I’ve been on the long journeys to the likes of Plymouth, Torquay and Southampton when I was playing for Tranmere, so this journey is not too bad.
“We’ve all been there and we’ve all done it. It’s just another game for us. The club put on a better plane for us and we got our feet up and had some sleep.
“We’ve done a bit of homework on them. We know it will be a difficult game. We need a good performance to get the right result here. Yes, it was a long journey but the club has done brilliantly by us by coming out earlier.
“I don’t think it will take too much out of us because we have prepared right. They are a good side, we know that. But we can’t expect any easy games at this stage of the competition.”
Taylor was on the fringes of the squad which reached the same stage of the competition last season before losing to Spanish club Real Sociedad and is determined to make this run one to savour.
Victory against Kairat would secure a place in the final play-off round with the lucrative group stages within reach, but the defender is putting all his focus on ensuring Kairat are defeated.
He said: “We’re really enjoying it. I didn’t get to play in too many of the European games last season but I’m enjoying it this time. It’s what all players come into football for – to play in the big games. It’s been a great experience.
“We know it will be hot but it’s nothing we are not used to because it was like that in Croatia against Rijeka in the second round. The conditions were really tough there. But we are preparing in the right way and, hopefully, it won’t affect us too much.”
Taylor has experienced the highs and lows of European football as a supporter but, despite most of his family following the red half of the great Merseyside divide, he was determined to go his own way.
He said: “In my family there are a lot of Liverpool supporters who have been to plenty of European games. I have a lot of friends who managed to get to Liverpool’s Champions League win against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005. So, being from Liverpool, I know all about big European nights.
“I was dragged along to some of the games as a youngster but, as an Arsenal supporter, going to the Liverpool games wasn’t the best for me. But I managed to get to the Liverpool v Arsenal Champions League quarter-final at Anfield in 2008. I was in the Arsenal end and my family were in the Liverpool end when Liverpool won.
“My whole family are Liverpool and Everton supporters but I loved watching Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp, so I started watching them.”
The chance to write his own name into European football’s record books is one which appeals greatly to Taylor. The Dons have been too good for Macedonians Shkendija and Croats Rijeka, with the 3-0 win at the Kantrida Stadium a particular highlight.
Aberdeen were 2-0 down in the second leg at Pittodrie before regaining their composure to earn a 2-2 draw and Taylor added: “We want to keep this European run going for as long as we can. I’m loving it.”