Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass believes BK Hacken’s resurgence in Sweden shows the threat the Dons face in the Conference League.
The Dons host the Swedes at Pittodrie in the first leg of the second qualifying round next week and it seems certain they will play a team picking up momentum.
A change of manager has brought a change of fortune with Hacken moving off the bottom of the division, but Glass believes their improvement may be a blessing in disguise.
He said: “We’re not underestimating just because, until last weekend, they were bottom of the league.
“I’m quite glad they won and got off the bottom, because people might have wrongly judged them.
“Even the players in here, you see a team at the bottom of the league, does that lead to a softness about ourselves?
“We’re well aware of their threat.”
Hacken improving under Hogmo
Per-Mathias Hogmo is the man leading the revival of the Dons’ opponents, but Glass has not seen any major changes in the team’s style of play under their new manager.
He said: “They’ve not changed a huge amount with the new coach coming in. Probably part of the reason the manager is in there is they’ve been fairly successful in the past.
“They’ve got a good group of players who play in a certain way and his way of working is very similar, if you look at his history, which is something I’ve done.
“So I don’t see much changing, which is a good thing and we are lucky to get the chance to see them in three competitive games.
“By the time we get to them, I’ll have an idea of how they play – and it will be similar to how they’ve played in the past.
“These league games will back us up in our belief in how they play. Then it’s up to us.”
So what is the challenge Hacken will present Aberdeen?
The Dons manager believes he has a good handle on their strengths and weaknesses – but is equally confident his side can cope.
He said: “They’re everything you’d expect, hard-working, organised. They’ve got some really experienced players in there, one who was playing at the Euros for Finland.
“They’ve got pace in their team, so are dangerous on the counter-attack, despite them being a possession-based team.
“If they’re defending, they’re pretty quick on the break. If they are attacking, they have handy players who can use the ball.
“So they’ll pose us a threat, but we’ll see where that threat comes from. We have to handle it.
“We’ve strengthened at both ends of the pitch and in the middle of the pitch, so I think we have enough to handle it.”
