JIMMY Calderwood is acutely aware that prestige rather than a solution to Aberdeen's own financial crisis is what's on offer for snatching the remaining Europa League place away from Dundee United on goal difference today. The Pittodrie club's manager has already been subjected to a barrage of abuse following their Scottish Cup defeat by Dunfermline and that would intensify if they were not one of the six teams from this country to qualify for European football.
Of course there is a delicious irony in the fact the Aberdeen supporters need bitter rivals Rangers to clinch the SPL title with a victory at Tannadice in addition to a home win against Hibs to make that happen. Then they could look forward to a ret
urn to the arena that still captivates the club 26 years after lifting the Cup-Winners' Cup against Real Madrid on a rainy night in Gothenburg. Meeting Bayern Munich in the last 32 of the now defunct UEFA Cup last season not only rekindled memories of those glory days, the run also brought more than £2m in additional revenue. Not that it was reflected in Calderwood's buying power as a combined £150,000 was spent on signing Sone Aluko, below, from Birmingham City and Darlington striker Tommy Wright last summer.
With plans for a new stadium at the embryonic stage and debts in excess of £7m, the manager has already been told there will be no money to pay transfer fees for players this summer. That's despite the fact that experienced trio of Scott Severin, Lee Mair and Jamie Smith are leaving under freedom of contract after today's game against Hibs.
It's a policy that will be unaffected by this afternoon's result as European defeats in the past against the likes of Skonto Riga and Bohemian of Dublin mean the current board are wary of freeing up funds on the off-chance of success.
Calderwood said: "I don't think qualifying for Europe will make any difference to the overall budget because you don't make money in the early stages. In fact, it could end up costing you money if you get an unglamorous draw then go out in the qualifying rounds. You have to get to the final qualifier and then the group stage which would bring in some serious cash with some massive clubs involved. We travelled to the likes of Atletico Madrid and Panathinaikos in our group the last time but this time you play them home and away. That would be great but we can't budget for that because we might not get there and we have to be realistic about what we spend."
Despite that, the Aberdeen manager believes qualifying for Europe would be a major boost for his efforts to keep signing top young English talent on loan. After all, their goals in the home draw with Bayern Munich were scored by Josh Walker and Aluko, who were on loan from Middlesbrough and Birmingham City at the time.
Aluko made the move permanent last summer and Manchester City's Javan Vidal, a fellow England youth international, is a certain starter today. Mark Hughes wants the defender back for pre-season training but Calderwood reckons a European place would help smooth a temporary return next season and persuade more Premiership clubs to do likewise. He said: "It would definitely help us to attract players to the club if we qualify for Europe, especially when it comes to young players down in England. We are looking at boys on the verge of Premiership squads like Sone Aluko and Josh Walker last season and Javan Vidal this.
"Mark Hughes would have seen how good Vidal was against Rangers last week and he would be more willing to extend that loan period if European experience was on the agenda."
