Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes believes finishing above tomorrow’s opponents St Johnstone this season will likely be enough to earn Europa League qualification.
McInnes is aiming for a winning return to McDiarmid Park where he spent four successful years with the Perth Saints before leaving to take charge at Bristol City two years ago.
The Perth club qualified for this season’s Europa League after last term’s third-place finish and McInnes expects Tommy Wright’s side to be competing near the top of the table again.
The Saints have only lost once at home this season ahead of tomorrow’s encounter. McInnes said: “St Johnstone look like they are a team which can be there or thereabouts at the top again which is credit to them.
“If we finish above St Johnstone this season then it will be an indication we have done well. I’m going back to a club I have a lot of fondness for after a lot of good times there and I genuinely like to see them do well. They are a team who have finished in the European places in the last couple of years, we have finished in the bottom six. They are ahead of us in the sense they have a bit of experience of being at the top end of the table and the stability it brings.
“We are working towards that. They have a good home record so we will have to play well to get a result.”
Tomorrow’s match will be the dress rehearsal of the League Cup semi-final between the sides on February 1 and defenders Michael Hector and Mark Reynolds are both available after missing training earlier in the week because of illness. However, Clark Robertson and Willo Flood are out, while Jonny Hayes is a doubt with a hamstring injury.
After consecutive 3-1 defeats in the Scottish Premiership to Hearts and Celtic before Sunday’s Scottish Cup win at Partick, McInnes knows it won’t be easy against a club he still holds in high regard.
He added: “Its a smaller club than Aberdeen but it’s a club with a big heart with a lot of good people there and I’m delighted to see them do so well. I’m pleased to have played a part, but a lot more than me have played a part in getting them to where they are now.
“The club have done a lot of good things in the last few years and they have had their rewards on the pitch.”
Aberdeen’s Scottish Premiership match at Hibs on Saturday, January 11 has been moved to Friday January 10, with a 7.45pm kick-off, for television coverage.