Kelle Roos wary of Frankfurt danger men as Aberdeen keeper seeks big win to kickstart misfiring campaign

The Reds have endured a tough start to the season with no wins in five Premiership outings, but Roos is hopeful a massive upset on German soil could bring back the good times within the new-look side.

Kelle Roos is under no illusion of the challenges Aberdeen face tonight when they take on Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa Conference League opener.

The Dutchman is going into his third European outing with the Dons knowing it will be a tough task tackling the recent Europa League winners as well as a Bundesliga side stacked with talented players.

But after a misfiring start to the season that has seen Barry Robson’s side fail to win any of their opening five Premiership games, Roos is confident a positive result in Germany could be the turning point.

Speaking to the media ahead of the game, the Dons goalkeeper gave an insight into life in camp with what has become a new-look side as 13 new arrivals look to settle in and start turning results into victories.

He said: “Within our building we know where our strengths lie and we have a lot of trust in each other. We’re building every day towards that and we know how it feels when we perform well.

“We know we have to bring a top performance tomorrow to be in the race. At the same time first and foremost, if we are hard to beat, then we have a platform to go and get a good result.”

The defensive wall has crumbled in recent weeks, with Mattie Pollock and Liam Scales gone and new faces including Slobodan Rubezic, Stefan Gartenmann and Richard Jensen in the door.

And Roos believes the Reds in front of him will be able to come good and stop any onslaughts, but they will have to be on point to deny Dino Toppmöller’s men a victory to kick off Group G.

He added: “Last season our defence clicked very well, at the same time this is the reality in football. We want to go to the big stages now so we’re going to have to recruit players. I think we have a lot of faith in each other. We speak a lot and we’re building our relationships on a daily basis.

“It’s something behind the scenes you don’t see every day but at the same time it’s happening. We realise that we’ll go from strength to strength as the season goes on.

“If we hit our stride and perform at the level we’re capable of we can cause some problems for teams. In this moment in time, people might say this or that but at the same time a couple of weeks ago we made it very hard for some big teams to go and get goals and points against us. We have a lot of faith in our own ability but at the same time we know we have to show it.”

After a nightmare start to the Premiership season that has seen the Dons go five games without a victory, Roos admits he cannot pin down the reason for their false start to the campaign.

The Dutchman stressed that patience is key and that the new-look side will come good, and a win over Frankfurt would be a tremendous way to kick some life back into the campaign.

On why form has been a struggle, Roos said: “The honest answer is no. If I could put my finger on it then I would have done it and tried to solve it. We know that and I guess you know, with new players you need to give them time and they’re good players.

“We see them every day, we work with them every day and we have good players in the dressing room. It’s very simple. We believe in our ability, we believe that we will pull through this and we will come out the other end all happy.”

Mario Götze poses a big threat for the Dons having provided a lethal finish in front of goal to win the World Cup for Germany back in 2014.

But despite a career may thought had faded after that famous night in Brazil, his talents still present a risk to Aberdeen’s chances against Frankfurt, and Roos is well aware of his talents and the firepower in Eintracht’s camp.

He said: “I remember a lot of him. It’s something as a player I’ve seen a lot. The German national team have been tremendous. He’s had a big career and still has a great career so I know a lot about him.

“This club gives us a lot of indications what we’re up against. They’ve got some top, top players with unbelievable resumes; we’re very aware of that and I think we should be aware of that so we know where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

“We know full well what we’re up against. They’re a top team and we need to be a top team ourselves. Obviously it would give us a great lift with a lot of new boys in the dressing room still getting used to things. It’ll be massive for the team if we can get the win tomorrow.

“We prepare for the opposition for every game. We’ve got a great team of analysts that will get all the stuff that we need and request that we want to see about our own game and the players we come up against.

“We are very much invested in what we’re coming up against, me even more so as a goalkeeper. I have to be able to react to situations that their players might create, and my role is a bit more passive in a sense.

“I can’t go full press or jump to the wing, so my role is very clear and I need to wait and see what threat they give me so I need to know all about their strengths.”