Alan Burrows has told Barry Robson he can boost his kitty for the big Aberdeen rebuild this summer by landing a European jackpot.
If the Dons hold on to third place and Celtic win the Scottish Cup it would guarantee Euro group stage football which was estimated to be worth around £5-6million to Hearts this season. Chief executive Burrows said: “I don’t think Europe will dictate Barry’s budget but it will influence it. There’s a realisation that if you’re playing in Europe long-term and the fixtures are tight in regards to midweek-Sunday, there is an expectation more provision will be required.
“That’s true at most clubs. The better you do the more rewards there are. There’s nobody here making any money. There are no directors taking money out the club. Everything made is reinvested. If we can achieve our objectives it will allow us to invest in the football side which can only be good for the short to medium-term.”
Robson already has one eye on next season with eight players currently on loan and Vicente Besuijen, Anthony Stewart, Connor McLennan and Dante Polvara farmed out to other clubs. They also have Matty Kennedy, Marley Watkins and Dean Campbell out of contract.
If the Dons get group stage football it would be a shot in the arm to their ambition of becoming one of Europe’s top 100 clubs. Burrows said: “It would be a culmination of a decade’s worth of work.
“Barry would want me to say right here and now our only focus is the Rangers game. It’s almost become a cliche with him and people have enjoyed the joke but I think it talks to his mentality.
“He tells me all the time that big players never see beyond the next game because they’re only focused on performing at that level. But speaking more broadly the club has never hidden its ambition to be a top 100 European club.
"The only way we can be that is to be in the group stages of European competition. So it absolutely should be the ambition.”
