Joe Lewis

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“It is a big game.

“One we have all been looking forward to this week.

“I think it was a good game last week in Aberdeen. We showed a lot of our qualities and they showed how good they can be as well. We are going to have to bring a good level of performance to get through.

“I have not thought too much about the Maribor game. I am just looking forward to this tie and we take each game as it comes.

“It would be great for everyone associated with the club to go further than we did last year and to take that next step but we are just focussed on this game.

“The club have been striving for it for a couple of seasons now. I think this is an opportunity for us to get through to the next round and who knows what will happen then?

“There are some big clubs in the next round but there is still a chance to get through to the group stages. If we can get through, whoever we play, it would be a big occasion. But we have to deal with this tie first. We know we are up against a very good team who showed a lot of quality last week as I say.

“We are under no illusions. We know it is going to be a tough night.

“I think it is a similar temperature to Bosnia. Maybe a little bit more humid. It won’t be such a big issue for me as I don’t need to run around! So maybe I am the wrong person to ask! We played well in Bosnia although we had to be patient out there but we got a good result and hopefully we can replicate that tomorrow night.

“The stands are very close. The pitch is very flat and nice. I would rather play in a smaller stadium that is going to be full rather than a bigger stadium that is going to be half empty. It looks like a good place to play. We will have our fair share of fans there as well and they will be making plenty of noise so it will make for a good atmosphere.

“The European games are a great experience. We have had some great European nights at Pittodrie. They are my favourite games to play in as an Aberdeen player. It will be an even greater experience the further we can get in this competition. It is all very well saying it is a great experience but we are all professionals and we want to win the games. We had a bitter experience last year so we are determined to go one stage further.”