Daugava Riga coach Arvydas Skrupskis has already helped dump one Scottish side out of European competition and is now eager to do the same against Aberdeen tonight.
Skrupskis was a coach with Lithuanian side Kaunas when they stunned Rangers in the Champions League qualifiers in 2008.
The Latvians arrived in Aberdeen yesterday afternoon and trained on the Pittodrie pitch last night ahead of tonight’s Europa League first-round qualifier.
Dons manager Derek McInnes has warned his players not to underestimate Daugava, although the bookmakers reckon tonight’s encounter is already a foregone conclusion with the hosts priced at 1-20 to win. But Skrupskis believes his side can take inspiration from Kaunas’ 2-1 victory against Walter Smith’s Rangers and cause a major upset tonight.
He said: “The Rangers match was the same situation as this game. Everyone expected Rangers to win comfortably and that meant it was easier for us to play.
“The pressure was all on Rangers. The result was a big shock for most people but not for our team as we thought we could win the tie.
“We played strongly as a team and managed to win the match. With trust in your team and a belief, then you can always win but if you go into a match thinking you will lose then that will happen. If we didn’t think we could beat Aberdeen then we wouldn’t have come here.”
Daugava are expected to play a defensive 5-2-3 formation in the hope of containing the Aberdeen attack and keeping the tie alive for next week’s second leg in Riga.
Skrupskis says he has studied Aberdeen closely and has pinpointed areas of weakness he believes his side can take advantage of.
Last week Daugava were defeated 5-1 by city rivals Skonto in front of a sparse crowd of only 94 people. Around 10,000 are expected at Pittodrie tonight but the Daugava coach is confident his players can handle the pressure. He added: “Some of our players have not played in Europe before but some of them have played in the Champions League, so for them the match won’t be a problem. We hope that after the game there will still be intrigue for the second leg. After the second match we will see who is going through to the second qualifying round.
“Aberdeen are playing at home and we expect they will be eager to get a goal in the first 15 minutes. I have watched Aberdeen’s last three friendly matches, so I know what their strongest side is. But we also know their areas of weakness and we will do everything we can to exploit them.
“When no one has faith in you to win it is easier to play.
“Aberdeen will be stressing the longer we can keep the game at 0-0 and for us that will be a positive.”