Jimmy Calderwood will take his Aberdeen squad to Alloa today to ensure there are no surprises and no excuses at Recreation Park when the Dons return on Scottish Cup duty on Saturday.
The Dons manager wants his players to be accustomed to the synthetic surface of the Second Division side which stands between the Reds and a place in the fifth round of the tournament.
Calderwood has already ruled two players out of the squad due to the nature of the playing surface but he wants to ensure everyone is comfortable with the pitch before the cup tie.
He said: “Any time we play on a synthetic surface we have to approach the game differently.
“We are going to Recreation Park for a training session and we will see how the players react before deciding on the squad for Saturday.
“The players have 90 minutes to show me they are comfortable and I will consult closely with the medical staff, but I am not going to Alloa on Saturday with a weakened team.
“The most serious cases such as Derek Young, who had pelvis problems three years ago, and Stuart Duff, who has just had an operation, won’t play this weekend.
“Darren Mackie, Zander Diamond and Scott Severin will be monitored with next Tuesday’s league game at Kilmarnock in mind but we won’t be leaving players out unless they are at risk.”
The Dons head to Recreation Park today still suffering from the effects of a virus which has swept through Pittodrie in the last 10 days.
The manager is still smarting from the defeat by Hamilton on Saturday which cost his side the chance to move up to fourth in the SPL, but he expects a clean bill of health at Pittodrie by the end of the week.
He said: “Results elsewhere were fabulous for us and it was a weekend where we should have moved above Hearts and closed the gap on Dundee United, but we didn’t do it.
“Hamilton played their system really well and restricted us well, but we should have done better.
“I may have been too hard on the players as I have been struggling all weekend with illness and there is no way I could have played on Saturday.
“Even when the individual mistakes were costing us games earlier in the season I felt we were always competitive, but Saturday was the first time where I never had the feeling we were in the game.
“We have kept the players off again as so many are struggling, but I expect them to recover as the week goes on and, hopefully, we will be clear of illness by the weekend.”
Saturday’s cup opponents Alloa were given the day off as their match at Stirling was postponed, allowing Wasps manager Allan Maitland to watch the Dons lose 2-0 to Accies.
Calderwood expects Maitland to prepare his side in the same fashion as Hamilton for the cup tie.
He said: “Billy Reid and Allan Maitland are big mates, having worked together at Clyde. I am sure Billy will be helping his friend out by giving as much insight into how he set his team out on Saturday as possible.
“For us, it was a timely reminder before the cup tie of what can happen if the approach is not right. We can expect similar problems if the attitude is not spot on at Alloa.”