Aberdeen know this much after being paired with Burnley in the Europa League – they are going to have to do it the hard way.
Ignore the fact the English Premier League club are novices in European football; Burnley represent a formidable task and Dons boss Derek McInnes knows it.
The Clarets were the surprise team in English football last season and ended the campaign in seventh place ensuring they will play in Europe for only the third time in their history next month, with the game against the Dons being their first appearance on the European stage in 51 years.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has fashioned a side in his own image from his playing days. Resolute in defence and committed, they won 3-2 at Chelsea and claimed a point from their trips to Anfield, Old Trafford and Wembley last term. They also held champions Manchester City to a draw at Turf Moor.
Dyche is respectful of the opposition and takes nothing for granted. Already he has made it clear McInnes and his players will be no exception. The Burnley manager said: “Everyone knows it could have been anything, looking at the draw with the amount of different teams from different countries involved. Lo and behold we get someone just up the road.
“We’ve worked hard to get here and we’ll look forward to the challenge it brings.
“We know we won’t be travelling far, so it won’t be too unfamiliar.
“It brings focus to the end part of the pre-season now that we know who we’ve got and we can prepare for what should be a competitive cup tie alongside our planning for the Premier League.”
The Clarets boss made the shortlist for the LMA manager-of-the-year award but lost out to City boss Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola enjoyed a record-breaking season in charge at City by reaching 100 points but Dyche’s achievements with the underdogs were outstanding, with Ruud Gullit claiming the Burnley manager was deserving of the award ahead of the all-conquering former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.
Dyche, an iconic figure in the town where he works, laughed it off when he met Gullit on television duty at the FA Cup final in May.
He said: “When I was watching this fella on TV, I didn’t think I would be standing on the side of the pitch at the FA Cup with him saying I should be the manager of the year.”
Anyway, he received a longer lasting award in recognition of his achievement.
In one of those believe-it-or-not moments, the Burnley manager had the honour of seeing the Princess Royal, a pub located close to Turf Moor in the Lancashire town, rebranded as The Royal Dyche this month.
Dyche, dressed in full Henry VIII regalia, features on the new traditional pub sign which hangs proudly on the wall after landlady Justine Lorriman honoured her promise to change the name of the establishment should the club manager lead the team into Europe.
Burnley were the sixth lowest scorers in the division with just 36 goals in 38 matches but their excellent defensive record of conceding just 39 goals was a tally bettered only by Champions League qualifiers Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Liverpool and fifth-placed Chelsea.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope was a huge part of that success, keeping 11 clean sheets in the campaign and his form has been rewarded with a place in the England squad for the World Cup finals in Russia.
He is not the only Clarets player at the finals, with winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson starring for Iceland in their 1-1 draw against Argentina in their opening match of the tournament on Saturday.
Gudmundsson is nursing a torn calf but the 27-year-old has not ruled out featuring against Nigeria in his side’s second match tomorrow.
Following Scott Arfield’s return to Scottish football with Rangers, former Scotland international Phil Bardsley is the Scottish representative remaining at the club and will be familiar to Dons fans having played for Rangers while on loan from Sunderland in 2006.