New Aberdeen defender Richard Jensen insists the Dons can extend their Europa Conference League campaign beyond Christmas.
The Finnish international, who joined the club last month from Poland’s Gornik Zabrze, faces a return to boyhood club HJK Helsinki, as well as matches against top seeds Eintracht Frankfurt and PAOK, following Friday’s group stage draw.
Barry Robson’s side will be huge underdogs in group G – but Jensen believes they can qualify for the knockout stage.
He said: “It is going to be a tough group, but there are definitely chances for us.
“I can’t wait to get the group started.
“I am also looking forward to HJK – that will be interesting – along with Eintracht and PAOK, who are two very good teams.
“It is going to be a tough group, but we can fight our way through.”
Dons will get better this season
Jensen is still waiting for his first win as an Aberdeen player following Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat by Hibernian.
The result leaves the Dons with two points from their opening four league matches, but Jensen will not accept European commitments as an excuse for his club’s poor start to the campaign.
He said: “That is not an excuse at all. We gave everything on Thursday and we gave everything on Sunday, but it just wasn’t enough.
“Hibs played Aston Villa and were in the same situation.
“Fortunately, for them, they drew the longer straw.
“We were looking for the three points. We could have deserved those three points and the fans deserved them as well.
“Unfortunately, those two goals we conceded were too easy. We need to analyse them and how they happened.
“The international break allows us to do just that – we will use that to get better and to get better as a collective unit.”
‘We have time to get it right’
With 13 new arrivals at Pittodrie in the summer window, Aberdeen boss Robson has pleaded for patience for his new-look squad to gel, and Jensen is in full agreement with his manager.
He said: “I think he is completely right.
“You can also see the good things that are happening on the pitch. Everybody can see that.
“We need to keep developing those factors of our games and to analyse what went wrong with the two goals we lost so we can address that in the future.
“We also managed two systems and that is something we can work on as a strength in the future.
“We have a bit of time to do so and to get it right.”
Jensen excited about chance to play in Britain
Jensen has had a whirlwind start to his career in Scotland having joined the Dons on the eve of the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie with BK Hacken of Sweden.
The 27 year-old insists he has settled quickly at the club, however, and is thrilled to have the chance to test himself in British football.
He said: “It has been hectic, but the welcome has been very warm.
“I am super pleased and excited to be here, representing Aberdeen.
“I signed a couple of weeks ago and flew straight to Gothenburg to be with the team.
“That was a good experience and it feels like I have been in the team far longer than I have.
“It has been great, but I am also looking forward to settling and getting to know everybody, to get a good sense of Aberdeen as a club, family and city.
“It is everybody’s ambition to come to the UK to play football. It is a high level of football and when the opportunity arose I jumped on it.
“I’m very happy be here.”
Jensen follows in the footsteps of other Finns to have played in Scotland, and he sought out the advice of a few of his countrymen prior to making the move to Pittodrie.
He said: “I was aware of the Finnish players in the league.
“There is Glen Kamara, who has just left, along with Ilmari Niskanen and Carljohan Eriksson.
“I had a chat with them about Scotland.
“It was a pretty easy decision to join this league.”
Defender turns focus to Finland
The domestic action has paused for the international break, but Jensen will still be in action for his country after being selected for the Finland squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.
He said: “We play Kazakhstan and Denmark. They are very important for Finland.
“We want to get as many points as possible.
“We are on top of the table at the moment and we hope to be able to maintain that position.”
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