Aberdeen vs FC Kairat Almaty preview - Jack targeting Europa success

Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack admits the prospect of big matches like the one facing the Dons on Thursday is exactly why he extended his Pittodrie contract.

The midfielder ended speculation linking him with a move Everton when he agreed a new two-year deal last summer and hopes his reward will be a place in the Europa League play-off round.

Derek McInnes' team trail Kazakh outfit Kairat Almaty 2-1 from last week's third qualifying round first leg.

But Kenny McLean's vital away goal gives them hope ahead of Thursday's return and Jack cannot wait to sample the electric atmosphere in a sold-out Pittodrie.

He told RedTV: "This is exactly what I want as a player. I want to be playing in the top competitions. For us, the Europa League is just that right now.

"Playing in front of sell-out crowds, which hopefully we will see tomorrow night, is what we want as a player.

"That is part of why I wanted to stay at this club. I'm looking forward to the match and hopefully we will get the result.

"Obviously it was a tough match last Thursday against Kairat. We obviously came away with a defeat but we freshened things up on Sunday against Dundee United and got a great result.

"So we're going into the second leg full of confidence.

"The first goal in any game is vital. Obviously we are going to look to get the first goal and get a positive result.

"First and foremost though we need to keep it tight and make sure we don't give away anything sloppy."