ABERDEEN midfielder Kenny McLean reckons there is no chance of the Reds repeating the dismal display that saw them flirt with a Europa League disaster.

The Dons limped into the second qualifying round despite going down to a 1-0 second-leg defeat against Luxembourg minnows Fola Esch a fortnight ago.

Thankfully for Derek McInnes' men, their 3-1 triumph at Pittodrie a week earlier was enough to see them through to a clash with Latvian outfit Ventspils.

A 3-0 home win has now given the Scots a comfortable cushion as they prepare for Thursday's return leg, but McLean knows their Baltic hosts will come out quick looking to put them under pressure once more.

But having survived a scare against Fola, McLean insists Aberdeen have learned their lesson.

"I can assure you there won't be a repeat," said the midfielder, who saw the team's charter flight delayed after the plane booked to fly them to Eastern Europe struck a bird on its approach into Aberdeen airport.

"We have spoken about the Fola Esch game at length. It was early in the season, only a couple of games in.

"The result can't be excused but we know we have a job to do over here and we need to put things right with the travelling fans.

"It will be a tough game but we're in a good position and hopefully we can stay there.

"We know what to expect. In Luxembourg, Fola came at us early and we will need to weather a bit of a storm again this time.

"If you watch the first leg you can see Ventspils like to get around their big striker, who is probably their main player. We need to try and stop that threat by cutting them off at source.

"We know their threat but we also know how good we are. We have got a lot of quality in this squad and we're confident we can go there and score. If we do that, it gives them a mountain to climb."

Aberdeen have qualified for Europe in each of the past three seasons under McInnes but have not made it past the third qualifying round.

They remain on course to face the winner of Maribor and Levski Sofia's tie but McLean feels it is time the Dons went at least one step further.

The former St Mirren playmaker said: "We want to better ourselves every year - that's our aim and I think we're doing that. We've built up a really good squad.

"It's important for this club to go far in Europe considering its history.

"We need to get back to pushing for the group stages.

"We won't take anything for granted but hopefully we can progress to the next round and take it from there."