DEREK McINNES insists Aberdeen won’t be turned upside down by Shkendija because he already knows them inside out.
The Aberdeen boss jumped straight into researching the mysterious Macedonians after being drawn against them in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.
Less than a week later, McInnes knows everything there is to know about them.
And he reckons there’s no chance of the Reds being taken by surprise in Thursday’s first-leg clash.
McInnes said: “We had stuff more or less straightaway.
“After the draw, we had both scouts and the full staff working overnight.
“We have every game from last season and we’ve watched all three of their
pre-season games from this year as well.
“Our scout went to see them in the flesh on Wednesday night, which is the last game they’re scheduled to play.
“Even before that, we knew their shape and if they stick to that we could probably pick a team based on what we have learned from their recent games.”
The wealth of material available to McInnes through online scouting system Wyscout shows how far technology has infiltrated football at the top level.
McInnes admits his job has been made easier by the ease of access to information on opposition teams especially obscure ones like Shkendija.
But he knows that once the game kicks off, it all depends on his players being ready and able to use the information they have been given.
“When I was a player, you would have totally depended on seeing the other team in the flesh and what the coach had told you,” he explained.
“You might have got your hands on one DVD of a game, but certainly not to the extent you get now.
“By the same token, they’ll be doing the business on us so it’s not a huge advantage in terms of the outcome of the game.
“Where it’s a huge advantage is in terms of preparing the players. It’s just like any game. We are having to work harder to be familiar than we would with a team in our league but I quite like that.
“It’s important that we’re preparing ourselves. But it’s our work on the pitch that will get the job done.”
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