Dons defender Jack Milne has been one of the season’s stand out players so far, cementing his place in the side to such an extent that he made his 50th appearance for Aberdeen at the weekend against Dundee. As he previewed Thursday’s match with RC Strasbourg, it’s one he is clearly looking forward to.
“As a young player, it’s important to just get as many games under your belt as possible, but you want to play in the big ones, the European ones. It’s great that I’ve got those under my belt at my age, but I just want to keep playing in as many as possible. The challenge of playing Strasbourg is something I’m really looking forward to.
“We’re all excited about the game. It’s another European night at Pittodrie and we’re looking to go and put in a good performance and hopefully get three points. We know it’s obviously difficult to qualify for the play-off round but we just need to win our remaining games.
“We know Strasbourg are a very, very good side. They’ve got quality all over the pitch, so it’s not going to be easy, but I think all the boys in the changing room feel that we can win these two games. As long as there’s a chance, then we’ll keep believing. We know it’s going to be difficult, but it’s a one-off game. If we go and get three points tomorrow, then there’s no reason why we can’t do it in Prague as well, and hopefully get through.”
The Dons could hardly have had a tougher Conference League draw than the one they got, but Jack is clear that the difficulties that has produced has helped the side learn quicker.
“As a group, there’s things we’ve done wrong in Europe. The Athens game obviously was one that stuck out. We didn’t really play the game plan that we had. We got disconnected, we probably got caught up in the emotions of the game. Staying calm, especially in the big games, with a big crowd, it’s difficult, but it’s important that we stick to what we do every day in training. I think that’s the biggest thing we can take away from playing in Europe.”
Milne’s form has been such this term that, with a pretty big tournament on the horizon next summer, there has been talk of him getting a call up to the Scotland squad. Understandably, he has no interest in joining in with that speculation, preferring to just do his job on the pitch.
“Playing for Scotland has always been a target since I was a kid, but I’m just focused on playing here, playing as well as I can, making sure I perform to the best of my abilities and we’ll see where it takes me. I’m pretty motivated anyway, I don’t really need extra motivation, but it’s something that’s always been in my mind since I was younger.
“But I’m just focusing on what’s here just now. It’s nice that people are talking about me playing at that level, but at the same time, football changes very quickly. After a few bad games, it can all change, so I’ll just keep my head down, keep working hard and see where we end up.
“The season has been up and down. We had a rough start, but especially recently, we’ve picked up some good points and put in some good performances. The same goes for me personally, up and down. I’ve had some good games and some bad games where I’ve had to learn from them, but from the start of the season, I’ve picked up a lot.
“Where I play, I see the whole game back there pretty much, so it’s important that I’m talking to people in front of me and trying to help them as much as I can. That’s something I’ve added to my game more and more. But the big thing is I’ve got two experienced guys beside me, Mats and Nicky, and they help me all the time, constantly communicating. Coaches, staff, my teammates, they have all helped me and I’m learning every day. But we all know that consistency is really important for us in the second half of the season, as players and as a team.”
Returning to Strasbourg on Thursday night, they offer the Dons a particularly stern test given their current form, both in Ligue 1 and in Europe.
“In terms of quality, probably they are the best team we’ve faced so far. We’re expecting them to be very good technically, tactically, but we’re well prepared, we know what we need to do. We’ve noticed that they try and build up a certain way. They’re very rarely going to pump it long, so it’s maybe a bit different from what we’re used to in our league, but we’re going to hopefully deal with that in the right ways and try and hurt them.
“It’s probably a similar concept to Frankfurt a couple of years ago, where it’s a very, very good team, but we had a game plan then, and we managed to get a result. We have a game plan for Thursday night and hopefully we can do the same.
“Playing at this level against top players, it’s difficult, but that’s what you want at the end of the day. That’s the only way you’re going to get better, playing against the best, making mistakes, learning. I always relish the opportunity.”
