Aberdeen will discover which team stands between them and a place in the group stages of the Europa League on Monday but Dons boss Barry Robson insists Europe has not been mentioned at Pittodrie.
The Dons start their league campaign on Saturday at Livingston and, with more than 4,000 Aberdeen supporters expected at the Tony Macaroni Arena, Robson is focused on ensuring his side get off to a winning start.
The Aberdeen manager said: “Europe has not been mentioned by me to the players yet. Throughout all pre-season all we have talked about is the first game of the season.
“Davie Martindale’s teams always punch above their weight so it’s always a hard place to go.
“It’s a difficult game but we are looking forward to it.”
‘We are pleased at where we’re at’
Injuries have denied the manager from the opportunity to field his strongest side in the pre-season matches but the Aberdeen manager has been pleased with the performances of his players in the warm-up matches.
Robson believes his new players have settled in well and the fitness levels of the squad have been equally encouraging.
He said: “I’ve done a million pre-seasons.
“The first team pre-season we’ve done isn’t too different to the development team ones I did.
“I’ve built pre-seasons that work and the first team have integrated brilliantly.
“Business has been good so far. We are pleased at where we are at. We look sharp.
“The players who have come in have hit the ground running.”
Pre-season trips all part of the European plan
All of Aberdeen’s pre-season games have been staged away from Pittodrie.
The move was by design with the Dons boss wanting his players to be as accustomed to life on the road as possible ahead of a European campaign.
Following wins at Turriff United and Fraserburgh the Dons were beaten 2-0 by Preston before rounding off their preparations with a 3-2 win at Charlton Athletic last weekend.
With eight European matches, four away from home, guaranteed between the end of this month and December, Robson wants his players as familiar with the adjustments needed to travelling as possible.
He said: “Last weekend was everything we hoped for with some young players who gave us some food for thought.
“We wanted to use these away games for the boys like dummy runs for how things will go in Europe.
“The two games were good for us.
“It’s a tough game at Livingston but we will be ready for it.”
Rubezic is a winner
New signing Slobodan Rubezic is in line to make his debut for the club following his move from Novi Pazar on Monday.
Robson said: “I think he’s played three or four games so he’s up to speed. It’s a bit different as he needs to play a different type of football with us.
“There’s a lot of tactical work so he’s doing a crash course at the moment, with a lot of work with video and on the pitch.
“He’s a big lad and he’s strong and he can move. He’s got a good mentality – he’s a winner.”
The 6ft 4in Serbian central defender is unlikely to be joined in the Aberdeen backline by Angus MacDonald however.
MacDonald has not featured in the four warm-up matches and is not expected to be risked at Livingston.
Rhys Williams, a summer loan signing from Liverpool, is also absent due to injury.
