Derek McInnes spoke to the media at Aberdeen airport this morning before the team left for Croatia.

“I think there is no question that Rijeka are a step up in quality from our last European opponents.

“They have a very good pedigree and they have shown that over the last few years. Having watched them at length now they have a powerful team with good individual talent and they are very organised as well.

“So you have to look harder than you would with most teams to try and pick out some weaknesses.

“That said I expect us to be better again. I expect us to be a tough opposition. We have shown that in the past, none more so than this time last year when we beat Groningen. That gives us confidence going into this one.

“We have confidence in our own abilities. We have confidence that we have the squad here that can manage the game over the two legs. “It is difficult to compare them to Groningen or even Real Sociedad but all three teams have that individual talent that can win you games. They have match winners all over the pitch.

“They will be a very tough nut to crack.

“Against Groningen and in the last round we saw the benefit of the away goal. Against Shkendija we set out in a particular way and we made a couple of positive substitutions to try and get that goal in the later stages of the game and ultimately that goal got us through the tie. So we know the importance of scoring an away goal. We will try and be as positive as we can be and make the most of any opportunities. Whether it be from set plays or open play, if we do get opportunities it is important we try and take them.

“At the other end of the pitch we have a structure and a way of playing that keeps teams at bay. They are a team who are aggressive, they support quickly, they get bodies forward and they effectively have four attacking players who all get in amongst the goals so we are going to have to make sure we have that organisation and structure to our play. However it cannot be 90 minutes of that.

“We are confident we have the ability to defend well and to concentrate for the whole game. Good players, like the ones they have, will punish any lapses in concentration. We have to try and dictate what happens, even try and dictate what they do when they have the ball.

“Domestically we are geared to being on the front foot and to be asking questions of the opposition. So in Europe we have to defend more and the games can be quite stretched. I expect this game to be quite stretched therefore pace is a more important factor. We have players who have pace in abundance.

“The aim is to always go out and win any game. We pick a team and system that allows us to do that. However we have to recognise this match is over two ties. We want to make sure we come back to Aberdeen with it all still to play for.

“The weather is going to be a factor. The humidity is maybe not as bad as Macedonian but the temperature is going to be higher at kick off time and it is something we need to consider and make the players aware of. Once the game starts though hopefully the competitive edge to our play is there regardless of the conditions.

“We expect it will be a full house so it will be a good atmosphere. Having seen footage their supporters are quite noisy so we also have to be ready for that. Any noise our fans can make in amongst that we will be greatly appreciated by our players. I hope the fans enjoy the experience, enjoying watching us play and hopefully we can get the result that they are looking for as well.

“Everyone is fit and has travelled apart from Mark Reynolds. Mark had a successful operation on Friday but will be out for best part of two or three months.”

“Everyone is fit and has travelled apart from Mark Reynolds. Mark had a successful operation on Friday but will be out for best part of two or three months.”