Aberdeen FC have to win in Olomouc
Striker Miller out to win back pride
Published:
PRIDE may be all there is left to salvage – but Lee Miller is determined to restore Aberdeen FC’s shattered confidence against Sigma Olomouc.
Since the humbling 5-1 defeat to the Czech side, shellshocked Aberdeen FC have been left to regroup ahead of Thursday’s return leg.
Any hopes of Aberdeen FC progressing to the Europa League play-off round were ruthlessly killed off in the Sigma shame game.
But Lee insists there is still plenty to play for at the 12,000-seater Andruv Stadium.
The new SPL season starts with a home game against Celtic on Saturday, August 15 and the Scotland cap claims Aberdeen FC must bounce back from their heartbreak before then.
He said: “We worked hard last season to get into the qualifying stages and obviously we shot ourselves in the foot on Thursday night.
“We need to pick ourselves up.
“It’s obviously going to be a hard one, but we just need to go over there and play for pride.
“Hopefully, we can go and prove that we aren’t as bad as we were in the last game.
“It’s not daunting to go over there.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about pride.
“Nobody likes being beaten so we need to go out there and give our all.
“If it’s not good enough then so be it.
“But the players all need to go and give each other 100%.
“It’s not long until the start of the season.
“We have Thursday’s match and the friendly against Hull on Sunday.
“We need to try to build a team that is going to play in the Celtic game, we need to concentrate on that.
“It is going to be hard, but I am sure all of the boys will pull together.
“We have a lot of good characters in the dressing room, and hopefully we can come out the other side.
Lee admits there was a lot of soul-searching among the Aberdeen FC squad after last Thursday’s Pittodrie horror show.
The striker’s immediate reaction to the debacle was disbelief.
He said: “I just wanted to wake up because it was an absolute nightmare.”
When asked how the players could get over their agony, Lee claims being truthful about their individual performances is the answer.
He said: “We have to look each other in the eye and be honest with each other.
“It is disappointing and a low point in our careers. We just need to bounce back and get on with it.”
Lee would not reveal what a clearly devastated manager Mark McGhee told his players when he kept them locked in the dressing room for 45 minutes after the final whistle.
The Aberdeen FC boss shouldered the blame publicly for the terrible team performance.
But the former Dundee United player is confident McGhee is well equipped to lead them through this troubled time.
He said: “Whatever is spoken about in the dressing room, stays in the dressing room.
“But the manager’s an experienced campaigner and knows how to deal with pressures like this.
“I am sure he will get us through to the other side.”
The recovery process starts on Thursday night, against a team who Lee admits gave Aberdeen FC a lesson in how to use the ball at Pittodrie.
He said: “They played really well, passing the ball about and keeping it well.
“They gave us a lesson in possession and expert finishing.
“The first goal was a bit of a scramble in the box, but the rest were clinical finishes.
“As a striker, I can appreciate how good they were.”
Readers' Comments
LOL. Most obvious headline award goes to .........
Kevin Robertson
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When oh when will this group of players realise they should have pride in every performance! Time after time they fall short of even being mediocre and then vow to make up for it in the next game - it's too late and they never seem to learn. I don't blame the manager (although he didn't choose the correct tactics for the personnel he had at his disposal in my opinion) but this group of players has to learn and learn fast!
Derek Bain
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Different management team but still same old story from players.....sorry, we let you down, won't happen again and we'll put it right!!! As I said all last season, shut up and do your talking on the pitch!!
John Cove
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