Aberdeen given UEFA Cup draw

Dear God, that's harsh.

Aberdeen today found out who their opponents will be in the UEFA Cup group stage, and it's not easy reading for the Pittodrie faithful. Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atletico Madrid and FC Copenhagen make for a formidable quartet of fixtures. What makes things even worse is that only one of these clubs, Atletico, comes from one of the "big" football markets in Europe, which will affect television revenue for these ties.

Finishing anything other than bottom of this group looks a tough ask: FC Copenhagen are the only other club even vaguely comparable in terms of their player budget, but they have much more European experience in recent years.

Still, if Jimmy Calderwood can successfully negotiate a way out of these matches, and keep Aberdeen in the mix at the right end of the SPL, it will rank as an achievement as great as any in his management career to date. He has always expressed a desire to test himself: it looks as if his wishes have just come true.