Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is confident his players will be able to cope with the distraction of a six-hour delay to their flight to Riga yesterday for the Europa League match against Latvians Ventspils.
The Dons squad was due to fly from Aberdeen at 9am yesterday but mechanical problems with the plane after it was hit by a bird on its way to Scotland caused the delay.
A replacement plane took the squad on the two hours and 20 minutes flight to Latvia but did not leave until 3pm, meaning the squad did not arrive at the hotel until 9pm local time.
Plans to train at the Spartaks Jumala stadium outside Riga were shelved for a morning session at Pittodrie, with the players then facing a two-and-a-half hour drive to Ventspils today for the game which kicks-off at 6pm local time (4pm in the UK).
The Dons have a 3-0 lead after the first leg last Thursday and McInnes said: “The game is still in the balance. If it was the other way round and we were 3-0 down I’d still feel the game was alive. We have to be mindful of that, the job isn’t done yet.
“There are 90 minutes to go and we have to use the maturity and experience we have gained over the years.
“We have got to recognise why we won the game at Pittodrie and it’s only half-time.
“We pressed the ball well, got control in the middle of the park and had good organisation.
“In Latvia it will be a similar approach, we’ll try to stop their better players having an influence on the game.
“Their better players didn’t show everything they can do in the first leg and that was probably down to us.
“We have to make that evident again, stop the supply into Girts Karlsons and keep him out of the box.
“The aim is to get through the tie with no fuss, no drama.”
McInnes was quick to act when it became clear travel plans would be disrupted and added: “It’s just one of those things.
“We were not training at the stadium anyway because of logistics, so today was just about turning the legs over. So, we went back to Pittodrie to train.”
