Jonny Hayes insists he and his Aberdeen team-mates are ready for the early storm coming their way in Sweden tomorrow.
The Dons face a BK Hacken side looking to overcome a 5-1 deficit from the first leg at Pittodrie last week and Hayes knows Per Mathias-Hogmo’s side will come out full throttle as they chase an early goal to try to force their way back into the tie.
Hayes told Red TV: “I’m thinking, if I’m chasing a few goals, we need to start the game quickly and get an early goal so we have to be on our toes for what is coming, but we’re well prepared, well drilled and looking forward to it.
“We won’t get carried away. We did our homework on the manager and staff and knew they were a good side last week. It took us 20 minutes to get into our rhythm, but when Funso Ojo had a chance I thought that was our rustiness worn off and it was a commanding performance.
“It’s good to see considering we haven’t played many games that we finished the game strongly.
“The boys are in a good place and training has been good. Everyone spends their summers looking after themselves and they come back fitter. It was the first game in front of fans for a while, but I thought once we got into our stride we were very good.
“For five to 10 minutes of the second half they had possession, but we overcame that and kicked on again.”
The impressive start to the new season has given Dons fans confidence an exciting season lies ahead and Hayes shares in the optimism after seeing the new arrivals, led by player-coach Scott Brown, settle quickly at the club.
He said: “People ask me what he is like all the time. One of my first games when I went down the road I wasn’t playing, but you wish each other all the best and high-five each other. I remember saying ‘all the best Scotty’ and he completely ignored me.
“When you come in after a warm-up he is a different person. Once football comes into it he is a different person. He’s a great guy who brings a wealth of experience and, while he’s taken on this hybrid role, he is firmly a player for now and is fitting in quite brilliantly.
“Players settle quite quickly at Aberdeen. It is a good environment to come into, a family-run club with high expectations. We have a few characters, big JET amongst them, and they’ve all settled in well.”
On new striker Christian Ramirez, Hayes added: “I remember we did a shooting drill the day before and he was very good. The level he was coming from, he showed he still has good experience and I picked up a few things on how he likes to play.
“I’ve seen it day in, day out now and he is getting better. It takes a while to adjust to the tempo of Scottish football, but he has slotted in really well.”
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